Since they were first recorded in Scotland in 1506, Gypsies have been vilified, feared and misunderstood. But when brought face-to-face with young Gypsy travellers, it took little more than an hour to convince a class of Glasgow schoolchildren that a different way of life was nothing to be despised.

For the five Gypsy teenagers, it was a small victory against the racism and bigotry which has hounded their families for generations, depriving them of some of the most basic human rights. "It was important for us to get across the message that people shouldn't treat us like animals," said Noah, 14. "They should judge themselves before they judge us."

Using a short video of their experiences, and a mixture of old and new photographs demonstrating their nomadic way of life, the children explained what it was like to be bullied and harassed for their culture. "People think all travellers are the same," said Mhairi, 14. "If a traveller moves into a camp and leaves a mess they think that all travellers do that, and we don't,"

John William, 14, added: " My mother makes me clean up around the caravan but some people don't bother and we all get tarred with the same brush."

The workshop - devised, written and presented by Gypsy children in co-operation with Save the Children, one of the three charities featured in this year's Independent Christmas Appeal - is only one way the charity is working to improve the lives of thousands of young Gypsy travellers who are victimised because of the way they live and their traditions.

"It's one of the last kinds of discrimination which is still acceptable and it's one of the biggest problems facing Gypsy children today," said Michelle Lloyd, of Save the Children in Scotland.

"People will think twice before using derogatory words with reference to other ethnic minorities but with regard to Gypsy travellers, particularly young people, they don't see anything wrong about using words like 'mink' and tink' or 'dirty gypo'."

In matters of health, education and housing, Gypsy travellers across Scotland are disadvantaged by a system that does not recognise them as an ethnic minority and provides scant protection.

The Commission for Racial Equality deals with less than 30 incidents a year despite the Council of Europe estimating there are 300,000 Gypsies in Britain, about 20,000 more than the UK's Bangladeshi community. A recent Mori poll found that a third of people - about 14 million adults - admit to being prejudiced against Gypsies.

"No Caravan-Dwellers" and "No Travellers" signs are still widespread, despite breaching the Race Relations Act, and 63 per cent of caravan parks admit to refusing accommodation to families, even if pitches are available. In Scotland, less than 20 per cent of Gypsy children attend secondary school regularly.

Gypsy traveller families are often forced to live on unsuitable sites - built in hazardous, out-of-the-way locations offering poor facilities - and are charged rents almost twice as high as the average council house tenant.

"The effect that discrimination like that can have on young people can be quite profound," said Ms Lloyd. "At Save the Children we have been calling for the Scottish Executive to take the lead in stamping out discrimination faced by Gypsy travellers.

Gypsy travellers were not included as a category in the last census but the latest published figures from the Scottish Executive suggests there are only 410 households, caravans and pitches - a figure which most Gypsies and agencies regard as ridiculously low.

"Many of the people we work with probably know more than 410 just in their own families," said Ms Lloyd. "Guestimates suggest there are in excess of 15,000 Gypsy travellers throughout Scotland."