Children's Mental Health Week 2024: Harry Kane talks to pupils about mental health

It's not everyday that you get to meet the England captain during a school lesson.

But pupils at one school were joined online by Harry Kane as part of Children's Mental Health Week.

The football star has set up the Harry Kane Foundation to help support young people.

He spoke to the class about resilience, mental health and why he thinks it's important to talk about your feelings.

You probably know Harry Kane as the England football captain.

Kane recently moved from Tottenham Hotspur to German club Bayern Munich, where he's already been breaking goal records.

He's seen by many as being one of the best strikers of his generation, but Kane says it's not been an easy journey making it to the top.

He said he went through many setbacks in his early career, including being released by clubs, going out on loan and finding himself dropped to the bench when he wasn't playing well.

"That's when I look back, I had to show a lot of strength, a lot of self-belief, a lot of resilience in those moments," Kane explained.

During those difficult times he would talk to his family.

"I was able to get things off my chest and that allowed me to focus on what I needed to do, work harder and ultimately turn into the player I am now."

He added: "Everyone goes through different moments in their life, ups and downs.

"It's just when you have those downs, you don't let things get carried away, you have to know or learn things to do to help you in those moments."

Last year he decided to set up Harry Kane Foundation, alongside his wife Kate, to help support young people and to learn more about mental health and has partnered with the charity Bounce Forward, which works to support mental health in schools.

"We're just hoping to first and foremost learn more about it, and also help a lot of the younger generation in their mental health journey," he explained.

Kane added: "With social media and a lot of online stuff nowadays, mental health is a really big thing and it's important to be able to talk about your feelings and what you're going through."

The England captain said he was aware that many people see him as a role model.

"There's a lot of young boys and girls looking up to me and looking at what I do, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well.

"What I'm trying to do is just give back to them and hope that me talking to them and helping them will help them for the rest of their life."