LAUREN Shea, a Year 13 pupil at Alton School, has been named the first international ambassador for TeenTech at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Duke of York.

This is hot on the heels of her being the youngest on the list of the ‘50 most influential women in engineering’ published in the Daily Telegraph earlier this year.

Lauren was a 2015 TeenTech award winner after inventing the ‘M- Shuttle’ – an innovative concept to get lifesaving medical supplies to soldiers on a battlefield.

Since then she has supported other TeenTech teams both at home and abroad to develop their ideas, working with teams in Finland, Spain and Hungary, as well as younger pupils at Alton School.

“It was a great surprise, and very thrilling,” said Lauren.

“And it was amazing to be so in demand from the various commercial organisations that wanted to talk to me. While I need to focus on my A-Levels right now, my dream of going to MIT next year feels more and more possible.

“I’m so grateful to Dr Clayton for all the support and encouragement she has provided me. It’s given me such an amazing platform from which to plan my future.”

Dr Louise Clayton, Alton School head of science, said: “I’m immensely proud of Lauren. She’s using her skills and talent to help and coach others, which is fantastic to see.

“Research shows that for girls to sustain an interest in science and technical subjects through their senior school years they need five things: female role models, practical experience and hands-on exercises, teacher mentors, real-life applications, and confidence in gender equality. I believe our team here working alongside TeenTech and other partners is providing these things in such a way that our female pupils really feel empowered and excited about careers in engineering and science.”

Dr Jane Gould, director of Alton School’s international programme, attended the ceremony on behalf of the school. She said: “It was a joyful event for our school and we are very grateful for all the support the students were given over the years by their teachers and of course their parents.”