Instead of the magical powers of Gandalf and the magnetism of Magneto, Sir Ian McKellen used his own experiences to mesmerise students with a talk about gay rights.

Well-known for his roles in Lord of the Rings and the X-Men films, Sir Ian paid a visit to Woodcote High School in support of Stonewall’s anti-homophobic bullying campaign.

He enthralled the audience with tales from his acting career and with a clear message that coming out was the best thing that ever happened to both his personal and professional life.

The gay activist took the students through his experiences of coming out to family, friends and the media.

And he also talked about his work as a founder member of Stonewall, the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity.

His talk charted the successes of the gay rights charity through the repealing of Section 28 to the Gay Marriage Bill.

He told the students that unlike in his time facing prejudices, there was never a better moment to be accepted as a young gay or lesbian person and that all students should accept differences with interest rather than hostility.

Sixth formers at the school in Meadow Rise, Coulsdon, then put their questions to him including about the situation for gay people in Russia and how there are no publicly gay professional footballers.

The visit happened because the high school is a Stonewall school champion, which means it helps to challenge and get rid of homophobic and transphobic bullying in the classroom.

Woodcote’s head of personal and social education Kellie Rutledge said: "We have been working with Stonewall over the past couple of years on tackling homophobic language and behaviour, delivering assemblies and becoming Stonewall champions.

"The visit was arranged to reignite the campaign.

"An inspirational talk from Sir Ian McKellen left the students mesmerised and gave food for thought on how we as a school can move forward and become ambassadors for young gay and lesbian students of the future."