TEENAGERS got a slice of glamour when the woman behind the costumes on TV’s popular Downton Abbey paid them a visit.

Grace Colquhoun previously attended St Mary’s School for Girls, in Lexden Road, Colchester, and went back to speak to and inspire GCSE textile students about her job.

She now spends her days making costumes for the ITV period drama, which has just finished its fifth series and includes stars such as Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Smith.

Grace spent the day speaking to the teenagers and encouraging their work.

She said: “I was encouraged to be creative in textiles lessons in school and that's exactly what is expected in the industry.

“You need to show how you can develop your ideas.”

Grace showed samples of fabrics and designers’ drawings to the students as well as photographs of finished costumes for Downton Abbey, West End stage show Wicked and the New York Metropolitan Opera’s new production of The King and I.

She then looked at garments the St Mary’s girls are creating for the forthcoming school fashion show.

Grace attended St Mary’s until 2005 when she went on to study on an art foundation course at Colchester institute before taking a degree in fashion design at Southampton University.

She has worked for designers Alexander McQueen and Sarah Burton and became a pattern cutter at theatre costume designers Angels.