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Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you' Michelle Obama tells London schoolgirls 'the world needs you'
(about 5 hours later)
It was not a good day to be sitting your history GCSE at the Mulberry School for Girls in east London. It was not a good day to be sitting your history GCSE at the Mulberry school for girls in east London.
While the rest of school left their studies to welcome their celebrity guest, Michelle Obama, just down the corridor girls in year 11 were opening their papers and starting to write. As cheers from their fellow students resounded around the school, they remained locked away in the school gym doing the exams they have been working towards for the past two years. While the rest of school took a break from studying to welcome their celebrity guest, Michelle Obama, girls in year 11 were opening their papers and starting to write. As cheers from their fellow students resonated around the school, they remained locked away in the school gym doing the exams they had been working towards for two years.
Related: Michelle Obama visits London – in pictures
But this was exactly the reason why Obama had chosen to visit Mulberry. The US first lady is in London as part of her Let Girls Learn initiative, which aims to remove the barriers that keep 62 million girls out of education around the world.But this was exactly the reason why Obama had chosen to visit Mulberry. The US first lady is in London as part of her Let Girls Learn initiative, which aims to remove the barriers that keep 62 million girls out of education around the world.
She had chosen this particular school – an all-girls comprehensive in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country where more than 70% of the students are on free school meals – because of the quality of the education on offer and the importance attached to it. Related: Michelle Obama visits London – in pictures
She told a hall packed with students that some people were probably wondering why she had chosen to come to Tower Hamlets. “I’m here because of you,” she said. “I’m here because girls like you inspire me every single day. I’m so proud of your passion.” She had chosen this particular school – an all-girls comprehensive in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country where more than 70% of students are on free school meals – because of the quality of the education on offer and the importance attached to it.
In a speech during which she admitted she struggled to control her emotions, Obama likened the experiences of the girls at Mulberry with her own upbringing in a working-class neighbourhood on the south side of Chicago. Ananya Chowdhury was one of the many students who lined up on balconies, peeped through windows and gathered in courtyards to meet the first lady. “I’m a 15-year-old teenager, and she’s the first lady!” she declared, her eyes wide in disbelief after emerging from a chat and a hug with Obama.
“I’m a bit older than you … yes I am,” she laughed, “but in so many ways your story is my story.” The visit, which began formally with flags, flowers, a song from the school choir (Something Inside So Strong) and a dance performed to Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise, ended with cheers, hugs, tears and a warm invitation back to the US.
She described growing up in a small apartment with her parents, her father working as a pump operator. There was not much peace and quiet to work in the room she shared with her older brother Craig, so sometimes she would get up at 4am to concentrate on her school work. But it was her account of her own upbringing as a young black girl in a working-class neighbourhood on the south side of Chicago, and her insight into the challenges facing the girls growing up in Tower Hamlets, that struck a chord.
Obama paid heartfelt tribute to the efforts of the young women in front of her. Almost all the students were Muslim and of Bangladeshi origin, with English as an additional language, but 83% will go on to university. Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived areas of the country where much soul searching has gone on following the departure of three teenage girls to go to Syria.
Obama told them that, as someone who is black, female and also comes from a working-class background, she understood the need for a good education. “With an amazing education from this amazing school you all have every chance you need to rise above the noise and fulfil every one of your dreams,” she told the audience. Almost all of the pupils at Mulberry are Muslim and of Bangladeshi origin, with English as an additional language, three quarters are on free school meals and many face a climate of Islamophobia, yet their results outstrip national averages and 83% go to university. Obama did not shy from the difficult issues.
In a carefully crafted, classic Obama speech, which picked up on many of the themes she first spoke about in her visit to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) school in north London in 2009, which helped find her cause, she acknowledged the challenges facing the girls. Some of the EGA girls were among Tuesday’s audience. “Maybe you feel no one is paying attention to you, you wonder whether it’s worth it, to even aspire to be something great,” she told her young audience.
“Maybe you feel no one is paying attention to you, you wonder whether it’s worth it, to aspire to be something great. Maybe you read the news and hear what folks are saying about your religion, and you wonder if anyone ever sees beyond your headscarf.” “Maybe you read the news and hear what folks are saying about your religion, and you wonder if anyone ever sees beyond your headscarf to see who you really are, instead of being blinded by the fears and misperceptions in their own minds.
She paid tribute to their efforts and said: “The world needs more girls like you to lead our parliaments, our boardrooms and our universities. We need you for tackling the problems of climate change, poverty and disadvantage.” “And I know how painful and how frustrating all of that can be. I know how angry and exhausted it can make you feel.
Obama’s visit was timed to coincide with a joint announcement by the UK and US of a $200m partnership to support adolescent girls’ education around the world, particularly in areas affected by conflict and crisis. “But here’s the thing – with an education from this amazing school, you all have everything, everything, you need to rise above all of the noise and fulfil every last one of your dreams.”
Dr Vanessa Ogden, the headteacher of Mulberry school, said: “The first lady is one of the greatest, most inspiring women of our time and her visit is an honour for us. Her use of her platform as first lady to drive change for girls and to break down barriers in access to education is critical for a civilised world.” Bushra Hussein, 18, was impressed: “She was so down to earth. When you see her speeches on TV, you think she’s not reachable. But when she was giving her speech I got teary.”
Earlier, three generations of the first lady’s family were hosted by Prince Harry at Kensington Palace. Obama, her teenage daughters Malia, 16, and 14-year-old Sasha, and her mother Marian Robinson headed to the prince’s London home to take tea with the fifth in line to the throne. Tahira Miah, 18, agreed: “I think it was when she was talking about her upbringing and that she’d had a difficult time. It shows how hard work can go a long way and result in amazing things. Her passion got to us all because she understands the struggles we face.”
The first lady and her family spent about 40 minutes chatting with Harry, who was keen to catch up with them after the warm welcome he received at the White House during his trip to the US two years ago. The headteacher, Dr Vanessa Ogden, was practical: “Prejudice and discrimination exist in the world and we have to have the resources to overcome it. She’s experienced it herself and knows what it’s like to work against the tide.”
Kensington Palace said the prince was “very pleased” to host Obama and “delighted” to meet her daughters and her mother. Harry is known to get on well with Obama. He was a surprise guest at her Mother’s Day tea for military mothers in the US in 2013. Obama is in London, with her daughters Sasha, 14, and Malia, 16, and her mother, Marian Robinson.
There was some light relief in the morning at a reunion with Prince Harry; the three generations of the first lady’s family were welcomed at Kensington Palace where they took tea with the fifth in line to the throne and discussed a shared interest in support for veterans families.
The first lady and her family also met the Camerons in Downing Street, but Mulberry and its girls were the heart and soul of the day. “I’m here because of you,” she said. “I’m here because girls like you inspire me every single day. I’m so proud of your passion.”
In a speech during which she admitted she struggled to control her emotions, she likened the experiences of the girls at Mulberry with her own upbringing. “I look out at all you young women and I see myself. In so many ways your story is my story.”
She described growing up in a small apartment where there was not much peace to work; she shared a bedroom with her older brother Craig with just a wooden partition dividing them, so sometimes she would get up at 4am so she could concentrate on her school work.
Picking up on many of the themes she first spoke about in her visit to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school in Islington, north London, in 2009 – which helped her find her cause – she said: “The world needs more girls like you to lead our parliaments, our boardrooms and our universities. We need you for tackling the problems of climate change, poverty and disadvantage.”
Obama’s visit was timed to coincide with a joint announcement by the UK and US of a $200m (£128m) partnership to support adolescent girls’ education around the world, particularly in areas affected by conflict and crisis, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Obama was joined at the school by Australia’s former prime minister Julia Gilliard, who took part in her capacity as chair of the Global Partnership for Education and helped answer questions from the students. “I aspire to be a lawyer,” said one year 13 pupil. “What advice would you give me and other young women like me?” “Work hard,” said Gillard, a trained lawyer and passionate advocate for global education. “If we hold any girls back, we are denying the world their talents.”
As questions in the hall closed and Obama stood up to leave, a mass of young women gathered to see her off, pressing in to get a glimpse – hoping for a hug. It took ages for her to leave. The girls looked thrilled. Ogden looked exhausted.
And the extraordinary machinery that surrounds a visit from a White House celebrity began to be dismantled.