THE fall-out from the US election has proven to be a hot topic of debate for social science students at The Commonweal School.

Pupils from Year 7 right up to Year 11 have been taking part in the debate in the wake of the shock election result that the world woke up to on Wednesday morning.

And as the dust begins to settle, many of the students have begun asking how and why Donald Trump came to take the presidency, despite scandal after scandal rocking his campaign.

Year 9 pupil Albert King, 13, got involved in the discussion on Donald Trump with his classmates.

He said: “Donald Trump has gone very far with his policies. People think he’s racist and extremist with his views. But he was able to get elected because he gave hope to American people and made them feel comfortable enough that he would solve the problems like unemployment in America.

“I think Hillary’s political background went against her because she had been too visible. I don’t like the fact that Donald Trump has been elected, I don’t like it all but we will have to wait and see.

“Nobody in the class really said anything positive about him. Nobody really likes him.”

Donald Trump has promised to be "president for all Americans" after pulling off an astonishing victory in a race for the White House which has exposed deep rifts within the United States.

In the aftermath of a bitter campaign, the controversial tycoon sought to unite the country behind his leadership and promised to renew the American dream.

Against almost all pollsters' predictions, the Republican candidate easily cleared the hurdle of 270 US electoral college votes needed to secure victory, though Democrat rival Hillary Clinton looks set to have achieved a higher tally of actual votes than Mr Trump.

In an upbeat and conciliatory message in stark contrast to the vicious battle for the presidency, Mr Trump said: "No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.

"America will no longer settle for anything less than the best."

Mrs Clinton called on supporters to accept the outcome of the election and ensure a smooth and peaceful handover of power from Barack Obama.

Joint head of social sciences at Commonweal, Lottie O’Brien, said the election was a real interest to students.

She said: “Many of the students have been incredibly well-informed, so it has been really interesting sharing their opinions and discussing some of the issues, such as why people voted for him and the feeling towards politicians in American compared with England at the moment.

“In terms of Trump there was a sense of disbelief that someone perceived as a blatant racist and xenophobe had been elected, and they couldn’t understand why anyone would vote for someone like that.”