The results of a mock referendum on independence have been announced by the OIC following debates held in Kirkwall Grammar School and Stromness Academy. The mock referendum was designed to closely resemble the real one that will be held on September the 18th, asking the same question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"
The total number of ballots cast was 357, representing a 68.4% turnout of s4-6 pupils who will be of voting age in September.
The number of votes in favour of Yes was 86 (24.1%).
The number of votes in favour of No was 269, (75.4%).
The number of spoiled ballots was 2 (0.5%).
55 of 223 pupils voted Yes from KGS (24.7%).
31 of 134 pupils voted Yes from Stromness Academy (23.1%).
Ian Carse, who took part in the school debates, gave the following reaction:
"This is a disappointing result and I would be interested to know from the pupils and teachers who participated how and on which topics we didn't manage to get our messages across. If people would like to come back to us with questions and/or would like to speak to us in less formal settings please get in touch through our website, facebook or twitter accounts.
In the meantime people may be interested in having a look at the website Generation Yes which has been designed and developed for people under 30 years of age"
Robert Leslie of Yes Orkney said
"We were under no illusions that the young voters would be a challenging group to reach and to present relevant reasons for them to vote Yes, and I would like to think that the vote reflects an information gap that is yet to be filled. This seems likely given anecdotal stories of pupils saying, after the school event, that they don't understand the issues and so will vote No, as if it is a default decision to keep the status quo, which it clearly isn't.
"There is clearly much work to be done to get the relevant information out to young folk, but I refuse to believe that 16-17 year old folk in Orkney are happy with the performance of the UK Government; are keen to see nuclear weapons remain on Scottish soil; want more Scottish service personnel sent off to fight illegal wars for oil; and live in the fourth most unequal country in the developed world."
