PUPILS from Eddleston Primary School had the special opportunity to visit the Scottish Parliament on election day last week as part of their democracy project.

Although P5-P7 pupils were left disappointed that no MSPs were in Parliament, they enjoyed the opportunity to sit around a committee table and have a full tour of the chamber.

Despite no MSPs being in the building, pupils had the opportunity to ask the politicians questions through Twitter.

The pupils asked what the MSP's favourite part of the Parliament building was, as well as what their favourite thing about being an MSP was

Emma Harper MSP (SNP) for South Scotland answered: "I love the Garden Lobby and the Garden Lobby stairs.

"That is the heart of oor Parliament and it connects all the different areas.

"There are so many great things about being an MSP. I get to meet and speak with very interesting people who are working towards making Scotland the best place to live."

Fellow South Scotland MSP, Brian Whittle (Conservative) replied: "I think the chamber is quite impressive although it's a privilege to work in the parliament as a whole.

"I think having the opportunity to meet with and talk to such a wide variety of people - and if I'm able to help those who ask for help it is extremely rewarding."

For the rest of their visit, Eddleston pupils had a quiz on devolved power, items connected to the history of parliamentary power, such as royal robes, a ballot box, the parliamentary mace and the Presiding Officer’s gavel.

In their classes on democracy in the UK, the pupils have studied a variety of topics.

They've looked at the history of democracy, the impact the Magna Carta had and women's suffrage.

Pupils also completed a quick maths task, working out when they would each turn 16 and 18, and discussing what type of elections they'd be able to vote in at those ages.

The day was enjoyed by all the pupils, many of whom were very interested in the architecture and design of the Parliament.

Jamie said: "The debating chamber had interesting light shapes and we saw the silver mace with the words Compassion, Integrity, Justice and Wisdom written in it."

Isla added: "I liked the architecture of the building, the modern look and the unusual and bizarre shapes."

And Ross said: "There were a huge amount of unusual shapes and you could use your own imagination to work out what they might be."