THE exams u-turn proves the power of giving 16-year-olds the vote, a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP) claims.

Josh Kennedy, 18, credits last week’s Scottish Government results change of heart to pupil power following a student-led outcry on the streets and social media – and he says that forceful voice is directly related to the 2014 decision to extend voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds.

The franchise was extended for the independence referendum before a law change in 2015 granted the same right for Holyrood and local elections.

Kennedy, who is amongst those to have received his exam results this year, says that crucial change has meant politicians cannot afford to ignore calls by younger constituents.

He told the Sunday National: “It’s too easy to ignore young people who don’t vote but we can now influence the make-up of Holyrood and that is really important.

“Young people are now more active in politics, they are just not active in the same issues older people are and work on the issues adults ignore, like climate change and exam results.

“Most people I know have been involved in politics in the last year. I’m not sure if the outcry was expected, but it should have been.

“We have the power to make make noise and back it up with credible action at elections – it’s incumbent on politicians to listen.”

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Earlier this week SQA boss Fiona Robertson defended the system that saw disproportionate mark-downs for learners from schools in areas of deprivation after she was called to appear before a panel of MSPs.

She said grade estimates by teachers had been treated with the “utmost respect” but the case for moderation was “clear and unequivocal”, because in previous years the accuracy of these estimates had been below 50%.

However, she said she “understood” why Education Secretary John Swinney had ordered the SQA marks to be binned in favour of these estimated awards.

Robertson admitted the row had a “very significant human cost”, stating: “It is also important to say disappointment is part of results day. There were unique differences this year which magnified the sense of disappointment and I appreciate that.”

Kennedy, who attended Trinity High in Renfrew and is now preparing to begin law studies at Glasgow University, says the SQA needs to “change its tune”. He said: “They should be working alongside teachers to make sure courses are accessible and communicating with pupils and answering questions.

“The current system only benefits the SQA. I’m glad young people have spoken out and that this change has occurred but I really don’t think it should have happened in the first place when concerns had been raised for so long.

“The amount of young people reaching out to the SYP about this is unprecedented. It’s been from all across the country.”