A 21-YEAR-OLD who spent her childhood under the care of North Yorkshire County Council is fulfilling her dream of becoming an investment banker.

Rachel Malik, originally from Glusburn and a former pupil of Skipton Girls' High School, is off to China in September after becoming one of just 95 people in the world to be awarded one of the most coveted scholarships.

Rachel was just eight years old when she went into council care and has overcome some challenging times.

But despite her background, as she approached young adulthood, she developed a deep interest in banking and world economic affairs.

Rachel, who now lives in Haworth and has just graduated from Birmingham University, will start her Masters studies in September at Beijing Normal University – the second scholarship she has gained to study in China.

“From the age of 14, when other teenagers were reading style magazines, I was reading The Economist,” said Rachel.

“I’ve always been interested in the financial world and now I’m particularly interested in start-up company investment. Nevertheless, I couldn’t have got this far without the support of my care workers from the county council – they have been with me every step of the way."

Rachel is also grateful to Skipton Girls' High School, where she went after failing her AS Levels at Parkside Secondary School in Cullingworth and secured good passes at GCSE.

She was selected to take part in JP Morgan's Aspiring Professionals Programme in 2012, and she gained a summer internship at Silicon Valley Bank last year.

She also reached the top ten this year in the Undergraduate of the Year: Future Business Leader Award 2016. This led to a prestigious award ceremony at Canary Wharf in London and accolades from television presenter Fiona Bruce.

Skipton MP Julian Smith, whose priorities are supporting young people and raising standards of education, has written a letter of congratulation to Rachel.

He said: “She has secured a highly competitive scholarship to study in Beijing and I wanted to congratulate her on this achievement.

"Rachel has had tremendous success, both at school in North Yorkshire and with her degree at Birmingham University, and has been supported by a dedicated, engaged and inspiring team at North Yorkshire County Council.

“I wish her the very best for her future studies and realising her dream of becoming an investment banker. She should be very proud of all she has achieved so far."