Pupils March To Success at World’s Biggest School Piping Event

The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust Press releases

Pipe Band 2016More than 700 pupils had Scotland’s capital city in fine tune today (Sunday 13th March) after going head to head in the world’s largest schools piping competition.

Youngsters from 118 schools across Scotland travelled to Edinburgh to take part in the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships (SSPBC) – a competition dedicated celebrating Scotland’s musical tradition and the talent of our young people.

This year’s event at Broughton High School saw pupils compete in eight categories tailored to their skill set, including juvenile, novice juvenile, debut, junior and quartets.

David Johnston, Chairman of the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT) – the national charity that organises and funds the event, praised the young pipers and drummers on the level of talent and professionalism they displayed in their performances.

David said: “The competition has been an enormous success and it was great to see so many schools from across the country taking part.

“The competition aims to showcase the versatility of the pipes and drums and the talent of Scotland’s younger generation when playing our national instrument.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also praised the competition, adding: “Learning an instrument takes patience, perseverance and practise and being a band member needs teamwork, self-confidence and camaraderie.

“These are skills and core values that we encourage in schools; they help our young people to raise personal and shared attainment, and to reach their full potential in work and in life.”

The SSPDT, and in particular the championships, encourages the formation of school pipe bands with taster grades for schools with no competing experience as well as providing a forum for schools competing at the highest level.

David added: “This year has been the toughest year yet for our judges as the bands really raised the bar on the quality of their performances. We are already eagerly waiting to see what bands will come up with next year.

“We would like to thank all those who competed in this year’s competition and we hope to see continued high numbers again for next year, as well as the return of old and new faces to the event.”

A full list of winners will be released shortly.


Could you use coverage like this?

To find out how we can achieve results like this for you call us on 0131 561 2244 or fill in the contact

form below and we will get back to you.

Contact Form