KATE Winslet gave an inspiring speech to thousands of youngsters.

She was taking part in the WE Day arena tour, an international series of inspiring stadium-sized events that celebrate the power young people have to solve pressing social issues.

Kate told the youngsters how she overcame bullying to become a Hollywood superstar but at the end of the day, she is still 'Kate from Reading.'

Here is what she told them:

“You see, I had been bullied at school. They called me Blubber. Teased me for wanting to act. Locked me in the cupboard. Laughed at me.

I wasn't the prettiest, I had big feet.”

“And I was even told that I, "might be lucky with my acting, if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts”. You’re just not really what were looking for Kate."”

“I felt that I wasn't enough, I wasn't GOOD enough. I didn't LOOK right. And all because I didn't fit into someone else's idea of 'perfect'. I didn't have the perfect body. And I would rarely hear anything positive.”

“I didn't lock myself away and give up on my dream. I fought back. I had to ignore the negative comments. I HAD to believe in myself, I had to choose to rise above it all. AND I had to work hard. You have to be indestructible to do what you love, and BELIEVE that you are worth it. And sometimes that's the hardest part.”

“And then one day, I was cast as Rose in Titanic. The most unlikely candidate, Kate from the sandwich shop in Reading. Suddenly acting in one of the biggest movies ever made?

You can be from anywhere, and you CAN do anything. Believe it.”

“I learned to embrace my flaws, to make no apology for who I am.”

“This is who I am. The real me. Kate from Reading.”

“Your school years are years you will never get back. Don't waste them. But don’t waste them feeling crushed by pressure either. Pressure to achieve the highest grades, or to conform to pressure exerted by people around you.”

“PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE. Today, social media robs so many of us of just basic conversation. We are constantly distracted from being our true selves in a world that is fuelled by inst-tweet-bookface , as I like to call it.

Is your phone helping you to be happy?

Are you using it in the correct way for you?

Are all those fantastic people you 'follow' (and think are having a better time than you are) -- making you feel unsettled? Unsatisfied?

Does it dent your self-esteem not to get those 'likes'?

Does it chip away at your true self?

Is it even the real you?”

“The ME that results from my life experiences and from having my eyes open, my heart broken, and from being told I "wasn't quite right" to be able to do what I loved, is the person that has made me who I am today, talking to you. With all my flaws, and imperfections.”

“Perhaps for some of you, the persona you have created online, is your version of perfect, and maybe that's hard to step away from.

“Society is changing so fast. What we VALUE is changing so fast. It's not easy being a teenager, and it's becoming harder than ever. In a world of peer pressure and such awful things as cyberbullying and exposure to unattainable aspirations.”

“Let's think about how else to share.....Share a REAL chat with the person sitting next to you, share stories, share being in this moment. By talking. Or with a hug.”