Pic: UK Department for International Development (Flickr).

Pupils at Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets set the bar high for students after meeting the First Lady of America, Michelle Obama over Skype as part of the International Day of the Girl event on 11 October.

Obama first visited the school in June 2015 launching her ‘Let Girls Learn’ campaign aimed at improving opportunities for girls worldwide to access and complete their education

The school was the UK host for ‘A Brighter Future: A Global Conversation on Girls’ Education’ this year.

With Skype technology, the Mulberry school girls were able to talk to Michelle Obama live from Washington DC. During the video call, the girls also got to speak to Glamour’s editor in chief, actress and activist, Yara Shahidi, about the importance of girls having opportunities to be educated safely.

Obama said: “We can’t afford not to educate girls and give women the power and the access that they need. Knowledge is power”.

Mulberry School for Girls says it has been pioneering education for women for over 50 years. Headteacher Vanessa Ogden said: “Her visit had a profound impact on our students: The First Lady spoke to them on a deeply personal level, stressing the importance of education in helping girls everywhere to overcome the obstacles placed in their way by those who do not believe in the equality of women with men.

“The belief that boys matter more than girls, which shows itself in many different ways, prevents 62 million girls around the world from having access to a full education”.

Tower Hamlets’ schools have seen a huge improvement in performance in recent years. They are now internationally recognised and achieving some of the best results in the country.

The percentage of young people in Tower Hamlets achieving five A* to C grades in their GCSEs increased from 59.7 per cent in 2014 to 63.4 per cent in 2015 but The Mulberry School for Girls GCSE’s results saw 98 per cent of girls achieving 5 A* – E and 75 per cent receiving 5A*- C.