A SELF proclaimed tough girl helped inspire hundreds of girls at Malmesbury School by encouraging them to push themselves and chase their dreams.

Motivational speaker Sarah Williams of Tough Girl Challenges, spoke about climbing Kilimanjaro, running marathons and the importance of having a role model on Friday, January 27.

"If you work with girls, you will know a lot struggle with the idea of chasing scary dreams or pushing themselves outside their comfort zone," Ms Williams wrote on Facebook. "By sharing my personal stories of climbing Kilimanjaro and running the Marathon des Sables as well as stories from the podcast, it can show the girls that they do have choices and they can do whatever they choose.

"It's always an honour to speak with younger girls and to share my message of motivation and inspiration. It was so much fun and the girls asked great questions."

Ms Williams began exploring the world after quitting her job as a banker in London four years ago. Now a keen runner and adventurer, the motivational speaker also interviews a number of inspirational role models for her podcast.

Physical Education teacher Ceri Griffiths said: "Every now and then you come across someone who inspires you. Today over 150 of our female students and staff got to meet Sarah Williams from Tough Girl Challenges and listen to her incredible adventure stories.

"She spoke about learning from past failures and not being scared to strive for new more challenging goals in life. If you truly believe you can achieve your goals - just make sure you set that bar high enough.”