As the talk moved on to homophobia and unacceptable behaviour, I saw more and more confused young faces in the audience. This was not because we were covering overly advanced topics or vocabulary; on the contrary, the bewilderment seemed to stem from their inability to understand why people would be homophobic in the first place.

In direct contrast, the teachers to the side of the room seemed to be more comfortable with this topic – their training, as well as their own experiences of decades past, no doubt enlightening them on how to deal with homophobia far more than inclusivity.

When it came time for questions, there were far fewer hands than I had expected to see, and almost every query was genuine and well thought-out. Even the one or two who tried to make inflammatory comments or digs, that seemed to be taken straight from far-right think tanks, were roundly hushed and given disapproving looks by their peers.

We wrapped up our talk with a final question about how to best support a friend who had recently come out. It was a great way to end, yet another encouraging sign that these children saw intrinsic value in allyship and community. Each of us chipped in to answer, suggesting the questioner listen to their friend, and advising that no two experiences of coming out are the same. Afterwards, while watching the kids file out of the room, I shared a smile with my fellow ambassadors at what a lovely question it had been.

As I left the school, only 90 minutes or so since my nervous arrival, I carried with me a sense of levity. My fears had been utterly disproven, and the 11-year-olds had, in fact, given me hope for our future. I saw a bright light ahead where these young people took their youthful inclusivity and a no-nonsense approach to homophobia into adulthood, creating our new norm.

So yes, it may look dark right now, and some of the adults in charge are ignorant, ill-informed, or plain old bigoted. But maybe, just maybe, the kids are alright.

Kallan is an ambassador for Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity. Just Like Us needs LGBT+ ambassadors aged 18-25 to speak in schools – sign up now.