GIRLS at a Worcester school have received an inspiring talk from Britain’s former Home Secretary.

Jacqui Smith, originally from Malvern, visited Christopher Whitehead Language College in Malvern Road to talk to year 10 and 11 girls.

Her talk, called making the best of your life, centred on issues surrounding women in the workplace and urged students to aim high in their career choices and have confidence in their abilities.

Her message was ‘the harder you work the luckier you will become’ and she gave some examples of women who have achieved through commitment and hard work.

Clare Marsh, the school’s learning resources centre manager, said: “She was very impressive, a really good speaker about women’s rights.

“She said how important it was for them to vote and about being confident and taking advantage of all opportunities and not feeling that because they were women there were limits to what they could do.

“Someone asked her what she was most proud of and she said re-inventing her career in broadcasting after losing her seat.

“I think the girls all went out feeling there were no limits to what they could achieve.”

Neil Morris, the school’s headteacher, said: “We want our students to realise that successful people are actually people like them, who have achieved success through hard work and by overcoming challenges.

“If the students can relate to the challenges, this really is key in helping them see their ambitions as achievable.”