A CROSSFORD student is hoping to realise her dream of becoming Miss Scotland next weekend.

Lucy Thomson, 20, will represent Fife in the event in Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel where she will vye for the prestigious title which provides a passage into the Miss World 2019 finals in Thailand.

With a huge focus on charity for all participants, Lucy has been working hard over the last few months to raise funds for CHAS.

She chose the charity as she wanted to help sick youngsters after she had worked at a disability camp in America last summer and is now determined to use the Miss Scotland platform to raise awareness of what it does.

"I first found out about the competition when I was 15 and have been wanting to do it for a long time," she told the Press. "It is a lot of fun and it is a charity event – each finalist has their own charity."

Lucy applied online for the contest and, after an interview process, was delighted to discover she had made it down to the last 18. After participating in a variety of challenges in recent months, the final will see her having to deliver a speech and take to the stage in outfits including a kilt and an evening gown.

"They are not trying to make it a pageant anymore," she added. "It is more about charity and that is what it should be used as."

With the focus on their chosen charities, the former Dollar Academy student, who is now in the third year of a Masters degree in Business Management at Aberdeen University, has been busy organising – and completing – a range of fundraising feats.

She ran in the Edinburgh Marathon last weekend, has done car boot sales and completed the Aberdeen Kilt Walk in aid of CHAS. She is also holding a danceathon at Crossford Primary tomorrow (Friday) to help raise funds.