Senior pupils from secondary schools across Fife would vote overwhelmingly against Scottish independence however the number backing either the Yes or No campaigns is rising.
That is according to a new opinion poll carried out in Kirkcaldy as a political debate aimed at teenagers gave them the opportunity to ask questions of senior national politicians.
In the poll, carried out at the EIS-sponsored referendum debate for Fife schools at St Bryce Kirk, 24.8% of the 327 pupil voters said they would vote Yes when asked the question ‘Should Scotland be an Independent country?’ up 3% on the same question before the debate.
Off those certain to vote, 67% said they would vote No, up 5.3% on the same question before the debate.
The number of undecided voters fell from 16.6% to 8%.
Event organiser Marie Penman said: “The event went very well it was lovely to see so many young people from across Fife getting so engaged with politics.
“The fact that the poll results changed before and after the debate indicate that teenagers just need to be presented with more information to make up their minds.
“It was a great day all round and I want to thank all those who took part.”
All 19 secondary schools in Fife had been invited to attend, with an expected audience on the day of approximately 400 teenagers.
The event was organised by Marie Penman, who works in further education.
With 16 and 17-year-olds being allowed to vote for the first time, she believes every young person deserves to hear a fair and balanced debate about September’s referendum, which will ask the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
The panel included Ruth Davidson MSP (Conservative) and Anas Sarwar MP (Labour) from the Better Together campaign and Patrick Harvie MSP (Greens) and Fiona Hyslop MSP (SNP) from the Yes Campaign.
Callum Edmonston from Glenrothes High School asked if it was feasible for Scotland to continue using the pound.
Dylan Niven from St Andrew’s High School, Kirkcaldy, asked: “Given that the Queen is to remain head of state and that the preferred currency is the pound, why does the Yes campaign claim that union with the UK is so bad, when it wants to hold on to so much?”
Adam Knox from Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, asked: “Would independence result in Scottish students having to pay university tuition fees?”
Other questions saw Catherine Finlayson from Dunfermline High School ask: “Would an independent Scotland put up border controls between Scotland and England?”
Jamie McLeod from Madras College, St Andrews, asked: “If independence does not work out, can we rejoin the UK?”
Pictures by George McLuskie