Ruby-Leigh Smith

My name is Ruby-Leigh Smith, and I am seventeen years old. I am currently studying for my A-Levels in politics, economics and business. I am a settled Romany Gypsy. I will be applying to universities in late 2020 and early 2021, and I want to study journalism, specialising in music journalism, and so a lot of my time is spent writing and listening to music. I have reviewed books for Sir Paul McCartney, and Sunday Times bestselling author Lesley-Ann Jones. I am particularly proud of winning first place in my school's annual writing competition four times in the last five years, having several books published by Amazon and available to buy, and also for winning national public speaking competitions. I think that GRT are discriminated against because of the negative portrayal of us in the media, and I want that to change. My ambition for the Youth Advisory Group is to change people’s perceptions of GRT in general, but specifically our youth and with the YAG I hope to educate people about racism in all walks of life.