HIGH achieving former Deer Park student Lauren Smith put her summer holidays to good use after completing her GCSE’s at the Cirencester school.

The 16-year-old was the only UK student chosen to take part in the prestigious global entrepreneurship programme at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA.

She was chosen to complete The Pennsylvania Global School for Entrepreneurship (PGSE) following a successful application and spent the month of July taking part in business lectures, personal development sessions and a community service project.

Lauren also enjoyed trips to New York, Bloomberg and Wall Street.

She said: “I was fortunate to be selected as the sole UK representative on a programme that involved 50 US students and 25 from the rest of the world.

“The students I met were motivated, inspirational and great fun to work with. For the team project, my team was assigned to the local minor league baseball team the ‘IronPigs’ for whom we had to develop a marketing plan.”

She continued: “I'll carry the lessons, memories and friends I made with me for the rest of my life. I can whole-heartedly recommend applying for PSGE 2014."

Lauren, who is now studying her A’levels at Pates, continued on a high when she returned to the UK to find out that she had achieved 12 A*’s, 3A’s, 1B and a C in her GCSE’S.

Deer Park headteacher Chiquita Henson said: “I am pleased to congratulate Lauren on her achievements at Lehigh University and I was delighted she came back to tell me all about her trip.

“She has gained in confidence and the programme has helped shape her aspirations for the future. On reflection, Lauren said her experiences taught her a lot about communication skills, team work and critically, time and people management. I hope others from Deer Park will follow in her footsteps.”