Powerful moment boy, 17, comes out as gay during school speech - here's how his teachers and classmates reacted

A courageous schoolboy has received a standing ovation after coming out as gay in an emotional speech at an end-of-year event. 

Harry Dynes, a student at Blue Mountain College in West Otago, New Zealand, gave his valedictorian speech in front of the school last Tuesday.  

The 17-year-old is the head boy at the rural secondary school. 

'Another thing I've struggled with, as well as my anxiety, for as long as I can remember but particularly during my time here at BMC has been my identity,' he said. 

'Since I was quite young, either eight or nine, I've known I didn't exactly fit in like everybody else… I knew that I was gay.' 

Harry's admission sparked cheers from the audience of about 500 students and staff.

'Keeping this a secret hidden for so long has been one of the most painful and exhausting experiences of my life,' he continued. 

'It's difficult to explain the feeling it's given me but to put it simply it's as if I was just existing rather than living.'  

Harry said he was 'really, really nervous' in the lead up to the speech but felt 'quite calm' once the day arrived.

'Definitely (felt) like a weight off my shoulders, it was a nice feeling just to let it all out and just be me, I guess,' he told the New Zealand Herald.

The brave student said he wrote the speech in September but it 'took a while to sink in'. 

He hopes his revelations will encourage other young people to feel empowered to share their own similar stories. 

'If I can help at least one person, then that's a good thing, isn't it?' he said. 

His mother, Katrina Dynes, said she was proud of her 'bold and courageous' son. 

The speech and its reception showed how 'brave, loved and strong Harry is'.

Harry, who lives in the small town of Waikoikoi on New Zealand's South Island, plans to spend his summer break working at a local grocery store before heading off to study a Bachelor of Communications at the University of Otago.