A FORMER public schoolgirl has put the launch of her new lingerie business down to the bouncing spirit installed in her schooldays.

Alice Holden, an alumna of the £30,000-a-year Mayfield School near Uckfield, said the school motto of “actions, not words” has become the ethos of the business she launched this week.

Latin lessons came in handy too – the brand name of her firm, which specialises in cup sizes D to GG, is Atollo.

Alice said: “Attollo is Latin for I lift up, I raise, I excite and the product follows the same path.”

After leaving Mayfield in 2011, Alice met her future business partner Fleurette Mulcahy at King’s College London.

She said: “We immediately recognised not only kindred spirits but also our mutual vital statistics.

“We realised we personally represented a niche lingerie market that was almost completely neglected.

“We co-founded Attollo because we had an insatiable desire for D plus lingerie that was stylish, comfortable, uplifting, affordable and didn’t resemble a beige over-shoulder-boulder-holder.

“Since we felt that every other brand was succeeding in making us feel self conscious, dowdy and frumpy, we felt a brand co-founded and co-designed by customers was the answer.”

Alice, who grew up in Hailsham, said her time at Mayfield taught her to “dream big and make those dreams a reality”.

She said the school network of alumni, known as Old Cornelians, had helped her immeasurably with connections and advice as she has worked to get the business up and running.

For the launch of their online business, www.attollolingerie.com, on September 1, Alice and Fleurette have created two bra styles and three matching knicker styles.

They say their emphasis is on underwear to make women feel confident and luxurious, having been designed by personal experience rather than idealised industry statistics, where one shape fits all.

Alice said: “We launched Attollo because we felt it was about time that D-plus women had something special for everyday, that uplifted them, made them feel confident, supported and also stylish.”