London, April 3: U. S. First Lady Michelle Obama told pupils at a girls'' school in London on Thursday that more strong young women were needed to determine the world’s future.

"I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity," the Independent quoted her as telling 100 children at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, north London.

The school is said to have such a racial mix that the student body can speak 55 languages.

Michelle’s visit to the school was her first solo visit since her arrival in London.

The newspaper revealed that she drew a crowd of about 300 cheering onlookers on the pavement outside the school.

"You too can control your own destiny, please remember that. Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude,” she said while talking to the students.

"Although the circumstances of our lives may seem very disengaged, with me standing here as the First Lady of the United States of America and you just getting through school, I want you to know we have very much in common. For nothing in my life ever would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first African-American First Lady.

"I was not raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago – that''s the real part of Chicago," she added. (ANI)