IT IS not every schoolgirl who can chat about kidding around with Princes Wills and Harry, or stealing the First Minister’s chair, or meeting famous actresses and street dance stars.

But Grace Warnock is no ordinary schoolgirl.

The inspirational winner of the 2018 Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year Editor’s Award is proof you don’t have to be a grown-up to care deeply about issues that affect people.

The 12-year-old from Prestonpans in East Lothian is the driving force behind Grace’s Sign, a powerful campaign raising awareness of invisible disabilities.

Grace was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a painful inflammatory bowel condition, when she was nine.

The condition means she often has to make bathroom stops when out and about and she noticed strangers often threw her unpleasant looks and nasty comments whenever she used an accessible toilet.

“It wasn’t very nice – people were horrible,” she says, matter-of-factly. “It wasn’t just me. Just after my diagnosis, I spoke to other people and we had all experienced the same thing.

“Me and my mum went for lunch and I decided I wanted to do something about it. I thought a better sign might help, so I sketched an idea for one on a napkin.”

That simple sketch became the design which is now appearing outside accessible toilets all over Scotland.

As well as a person in a wheelchair, it includes a standing person with a red heart, symbolising both invisible conditions and the message Grace wants to get across.

“I want people to have a heart and think before they say something rude, because not all disabilities are easy to see,” she says. “I want people not to judge.”

Grace enlisted the support of her mum, Judith and her MSP Iain Gray to get her campaign off the ground.

Iain explains: “Grace is an incredible young woman , with passion, determination and a real desire to help others. And she is not even a teenager yet.

“I am very used to people coming to me with problems – Grace came to me with a problem and a solution and we set about trying to make it happen.

“She is an incredible ambassador for Scotland’s Year of Young People, and a worthy winner of the Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year Editor’s Award.”

The first Grace’s Sign appeared in the Scottish Parliament, and since then, dozens of organisations have come on board, from Edinburgh Airport and Easter Road football ground, home of Hibs FC, to Inverclyde Sports Centre and local garden centres.

Email enquiries have flooded in from Ireland, America, Australia and beyond.

“I hope the sign will eventually appear everywhere,” says Grace, simply. “I’m concentrating now on schools, because I think young people need to be aware of invisible disabilities too.

“It’s hard for young people who have inflammatory bowel conditions and people might not be aware of that.”

Grace was diagnosed with Crohn’s three years ago, as her mum Judith explains. The inflammation, when it flares up, can be extremely painful, but Grace rarely complains.

“She copes with it incredibly well, better even than some adults would,” says Judith, who is an accountant. “She rarely misses school, and when she does, she catches up again quickly.

“The diagnosis came out of the blue – Grace was a fit, healthy girl, but she took ill and ended up in hospital with E-coli, and from that the doctors discovered she had Crohn’s.

“It was a real shock.”

Every four weeks, Grace attends hospital for a lengthy infusion of medicine which helps reduce the inflammation. The downside is it affects her immune system, making her more susceptible to infection.

“Grace hardly every cries, even though I know she is in terrible pain,” says Judith, quietly. “When she does cry, I know how bad it must be for her.”

She pauses. “It’s very hard to watch your daughter go through something like this – you just want it to go away,” she says. “If I could swap places with her, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Grace’s campaign has caught the attention of a host of famous people, including Nicola Sturgeon, who invited her to Bute House, the First Minister’s official residence; and Princes William and Harry, who invited her to Kensington Palace.

“I like Harry better than William,” explains Grace. “He was more fun, because he kept teasing William about his bald patch.

“Nicola Sturgeon was very nice. She let me sit in her chair at the fireplace.”

Grace dismissed the notion she could be a future First Minister.

“I want to be a chef,” she beams. “I like baking. I definitely want to keep campaigning, but for my job, I’d like it to be something to do with food.”

Grace’s friends, Nicole Bain and Rachael MacDonald, who are both 12, say they are proud of their classmate, who has also met dancer Ashley Banjo and Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown.

“It’s really cool, what she has done,” nods Nicole.

Rachael adds: “Although we’re a bit envious of the people she has met. Especially when she doesn’t REALLY know who they are, like Millie Bobby Brown.”

Judith says both she and her daughter have been taken aback by the impact the Grace’s Sign campaign has had in a short time.

“So many people have got in touch to congratulate Grace on her idea, telling her it is so important,” smiles Judith. “I don’t think it has quite sunk in for Grace, just how big an impact her idea has had.

“It’s amazing, and I’m so proud of her.”