EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — They arrived before polling stations even opened, dressed for the school day in striped ties and blazers, dress slacks and tartan skirts, book bags over their shoulders — and for the first time in British history, ballot cards in hand.

Scotland’s experiment of allowing more than 100,000 teens aged 16 to 17 to take part in this week’s independence referendum has demonstrated how the youngest voters can be some of the most enthusiastic in a mature democracy. More than 90 percent of the previously disenfranchised teens registered to vote — and, to the surprise of many analysts, proved not so ready to rebel against their parents as might be expected.