Query over Keira's 'dyslexia'

It is an inspiring story of achievement against all the odds.

Dyslexic schoolgirl Keira Knightley is condemned as stupid by her bullying classmates as she struggles with her lessons, but escapes her misery by becoming a movie star.

This is the version of her childhood described by the 19-year- old actress in an interview to publicise her latest film, the £80million epic King Arthur.

But it has baffled staff at her old comprehensive, who remember a gifted girl who was one of the top pupils in her year before going on to feature in hits such as Bend It Like Beckham.

They are 'mystified and disappointed' by her account of life at Teddington School, on the banks of the Thames in South-West London.

'It's disappointing to hear she feels she had a hard time here,' said headmaster Richard Weeks. 'That's not the Keira I knew of.' In the interview, the daughter of actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald declared: 'I kept my head down in school. I was very quiet. I had a few friends but not many.

'I certainly wasn't one of the popular people. When I was very little kids called me stupid because I couldn't read.

'Yeah, the dyslexia didn't help. But it's amazing what a child calling you stupid would do to make you read pretty quickly. I wasn't happy in school, partly because I wanted to do something else.

'I was just absolutely not happy being there. I was lucky enough to have an escape route and this is it. Many kids aren't and many are very unhappy.

'I was very happy, and so were my parents, when I finally left because I think it was a huge weight off their shoulders.'

But Mr Weeks said: 'Every one at the school liked Keira and I thought she liked everyone here. She was a gifted pupil academically. In her GCSEs she got six A*s, three As and a B. She was almost our highest-achieving student.

'I find it difficult to believe she would have got those grades if she had dyslexia, especially as one of her As was in English.

'As far as I knew there was never any question of her having dyslexia - it was never mentioned to me by any of teachers or from her feeder school. If she had been diagnosed with dyslexia she would have been allowed to have had extra time in exams and she didn't have that.

'The teachers always went out of their way to help her - she was out of school quite a lot acting, and they would always prepare extra work for her. There was never any resentment about that - everyone is proud of her successes.

'We really cared about her, as we do all our pupils. She was a very down-to- earth, normal pupil and she was completely accepted by other people here. I heard suggestions before that we let her down and I really don't know where this has come from - I'm mystified.

' We didn't think life was difficult for her. I'm really sorry if that's what she felt.'

Throughout her early teens, Miss Knightley claims dyslexia meant she had to wear special spectacles to help her read. However, things have since improved.

'Now, reading's kinda fine but my spelling is horrible,' she said.

But her former history teacher and assistant Head of Year at Teddington, who declined to give her name, said: 'It was never brought to my attention that there were any concerns about dyslexia.

'I taught Keira history for two years. I am not a dyslexia expert but like most teachers I have some understanding of it and I never saw any signs of it in Keira.'