BIRKENHEAD High School's most celebrated 'old girl', returned to Devonshire Place last week to tell the VIth Form how they could, indeed, 'have it all'.

Nicola, mother-of-five and a high-flyer in the City, hit the national headlines when she was involved in an unfair dismissal action against employers Morgan Grenfell.

The Press dubbed her 'Supermum', many columnists sniping at her decision to raise a large family while commanding such an illustrious position in the financial world.

But in a question-and-answer session at the school, Nicola branded the title 'ridiculous', adding that a single mum with two children who tried to juggle the demands of work deserved the name more.

The secrets to her success, she revealed, were to work hard and play hard, giving 100 per cent to the job and equal dedication to family life. Others vital factors were an understanding boss, supportive husband and strict time management. "I'm not a workaholic: it's all about managing your time succesfully," Nicola said.

Her latest project is her book, 'Can You Have it All?', which focuses on the struggle of coping with a sick child. It was written in response to her own search for supportive material when her eldest daughter Georgina, who is now 11, was diagnosed as suffering from leukaemia. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital, whose staff saved her when she was very seriously ill.

Nicola Gayford, as she was, first went to Birkenhead High in 1975, after running away from Cheltenham Ladies' College. She had repeatedly told her parents that she was deeply unhappy as a boarder there and took decisive action when 'the message didn't seem to get through'.

Despite the fact that Nicola had not taken the entrance exam, Birkenhead High's then head, Freda Kellett, invited her to try the school for a week. She stayed for three years, winning a place at Oxford despite having missed weeks of school just before her A levels when she was stricken with glandular fever.

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