Ambassadors, doctors and managers were part of an inspirational conference in Dagenham yesterday.

Elutec, the borough’s academy of design and engineering, in Yew Tree Avenue, played host to its first-ever girls conference, where guest speakers spoke about their lives and how they got to where they are now.

Guest speakers included Dare to be Different ambassador and NHS doctor, Clare Morden, lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, Hannah Mackenzie, HR Manager at Ford UK and Boikanyo Trust Phenyo, Alison Calnan, and civil works manager at Bouyges UK, Claire Cervera, on the day.

Principal, Ruth Umerah, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our girls to meet successful women and see how their career paths had developed from their schools days.

“We are proud of the girls’ achievements here at Elutec and look forward to seeing their careers blossom in the future.

“I am really looking forward to our next conference which we hope to open up to girls from neighbouring schools.”

They talked about the route they followed from leaving school and why achieving great results in GCSE and A level programmes is so important.