Raising Aspirations Evening


On Wednesday 5th October Emily Cummins, award winning inventor and entrepreneur, visited Selby High School as part of the annual Raising Aspirations event. Emily is an award-winning inventor whose interest in sustainable design began at the age of four, when her grandfather gave her a hammer and began to teach her how to make toys from scraps of materials found in his garden shed.

Teenage concern about our reliance on fossil fuel energy provoked Emily to design a sustainable fridge which is ‘powered’ by dirty water but keeps the contents dry, hygienic and cool. During her gap year, Emily went to live in an African township where she refined her fridge before giving away the plans to help improve the quality of life for people living in poverty across southern Africa. As a result of her work, Emily was named as One of the Top Ten Outstanding Young People in the World 2010 and the Barclays Woman of the Year 2009.

Emily spoke to our More Able Year 11 students during the afternoon, and Year 9 and 10 students and their parents during the evening about her inspirational story and all of her achievements. Fantastic feedback was received by both students and parents who found her story to be relatable, inspiring and motivating.