BRITAIN'S best-known para-lympian made a passionate speech to pupils.

Dame Tanni Grey Thompson spent 90 minutes talking to youngsters and staff at William de Ferrers School, South Woodham Ferrers.

Dame Tanni, 38, has won 15 paralympic medals, including 11 golds, six of which were in the London Marathon.

Vicky Sweeting, the school's sport development manager, set up the visit and said her talk was truly inspiring.

She said: "She was here to give a motivational speech to everybody involved in sport and PE.

"We are a fully inclusive school and everybody does at least two hours of PE, regardless of their physical ability, and my particular role involves special needs and sport for the disabled.

"Dame Tanni spoke about how to reach your full potential and how to keep going.

"The kids thought it was fantastic and afterwards they were full of beans and are still talking about it."

Dame Tanni was born in Cardiff and named Carys Davina, but when her older sister first saw her she called her tiny, which stuck and became Tanni.

Dame Tanni, who now lives in North Yorkshire, was born with spina bifida, but her parents always encouraged her to be independent and she attended her local primary school using crutches and callipers, then a wheelchair.

Her education culminated with her graduating with an honours degree in politics at Loughbor-ough University.

Since then, she has won countless accolades and awards in recognition of her paralympic and sporting achievements and in 2000 came third in the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. In the same year, Tanni was given an OBE in the Millennium New Year's Honours List in honour of her services to sport and four years later she was made a Dame.

She has also been BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year three times.