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Schools Election 2011

Schools Election 2011 - the results are in!

A second Aberdeenshire Schools Election took place in seven schools mirroring May's Scottish Parliamentary Election and referendum on the voting system used for the UK Parliament.


This project once again gave secondary school pupils the chance to run and vote in their own elections and raised awareness amongst young people of the importance of voting and engaging in the democratic process.

Please visit the school pages at the bottom of this page for the results of the elections in each , as well as further information on those taking part and their campaigning activities.


Pupils owned the project at every stage - nominating their own candidates, running their own campaigns, staffing polling stations and counting votes. Each school held its own contest as part of a single constituency, with five senior pupils at each school standing as candidates for one of the five political parties in Scotland represented at either the Holyrood or Westminster Parliaments. Voting took place on Thursday, 10 March, 2011, with the count taking place in Inverurie the following day.


The project replicated the voting system which elects Members of the Scottish Parliament, affording pupils a vote for a candidate in their own school constituency as well as another on a regional list (the Additional Member system). Votes in the latter were aggregated across the seven participating schools to allocate a further seven regional seats. Finally, as will be the case in May, all pupils involved vote either "Yes" or "No" in a referendum on whether a new voting system (Additional Vote) should be used to elect members to the UK Parliament.


The parties invited to support the project were the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party. Each party nominated a senior representative to be filmed for a DVD which was made available to the pupil candidates who represented those parties to ensure their policies and political philosophies were accurately represented.


All of the pupils involved will be reaching the age of majority over the next few years and so the process was designed to be as realistic as possible, involving the Aberdeenshire Elections Team, the Education, Learning & Leisure Service, and Electoral Registration. Authentic equipment and procedures were at the heart of the project.


Modern studies teachers worked with pupils in the run-up to the election, discussing the nature of the five parties, as well as their policies and manifestos, and the importance of the various voting systems involved in these elections. Part of the project saw the young people draw up their own manifesto proposals, retaining the parties' core elements.

By clicking on the link below to each of the schools involved, you can find details of their candidates, manifestos and the results of the three contests:-

The Aberdeenshire-wide regional list and referendum results can be found below:-

For more information on the project please contact our election team:

Aberdeenshire Vote Matters on Facebook

Election Unit, Aberdeenshire Council, Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen, AB16 5GB
Telephone: 01224665119
elections@aberdeenshire.gov.uk