Prince William has visited Hammersmith Academy in Shepherd's Bush to show his support for the Diana Award, an anti-bullying campaign set up in memory of his mother.

During his visit to the Cathnor Road school on September 21, the Prince took part in a training session focused on support networks, cyber-bullying and LGBT bullying issues.

He aso saw how Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are taught to recognise signs of bullying and how they can encourage victims to seek help and speak out about their concerns.

During the training, each young person was asked to identify five trusted sources they could seek support fro

Prince William also met 50 young people from across London with experience of bullying who have gone on to become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

His visit comes as an online survey of nearly 2,000 young people, conducted by The Diana Award as young people returned to school after the summer holidays, reveals that a third of young people didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone about bullying and over half thought about skipping school.

In response, the The Diana Award is running a #Back2School campaign urging young people not to suffer in silence but seek support from those around them

Tessy Ojo, Chief Executive, Diana Award says: "These latest statistics highlight how vital it is to empower young people to speak out and seek support if they are experiencing bullying.

" We are absolutely thrilled to have the support of the Duke of Cambridge and his understanding that no-one should suffer in silence. Through our training, mentoring and development programmes we empower and motivate young people to create lifelong positive social changes in their communities."

There are currently over 16,000 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors trained by The Diana Award in 3,000 schools across the UK and Ireland.

The Diana Award was set up in memory of The Duke of Cambridge's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better.

It says it is committed to empowering thousands of young people to tackle social issues that affect other young people using a well-tested peer-led approach.

September 24, 2015