Sally Field honoured at old high school

Sally Field has been honoured at her old high school by having a performing arts centre dedicated to her.

Students gathered at Lake Balboa, California's Birmingham Community Charter High School to see the Oscar winner return to the institution for the dedication.

PA reports that Field called on the children to take advantage of all that the school's drama programme can provide.

"I want to say how lucky you are that this beautiful theatre exists for you," she said. "Use it. Explore not only the world of language, the spoken word and that of storytelling - because that's what we do up here on this stage, we tell stories - but use it to explore you."

The actress explained that she never fit in while in high school, but suggested that the drama programme "quite simply saved my life" and was the one place where she could "most truly and absolutely be me, where I lost myself and found me".

Field has won numerous acting awards during her career, including an Oscar for 1979's Norma Rae and an Emmy for the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.