Schools Championship Grows in Stature

by Alistair Aitken OBE T

he second Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships were held in Broughton High School and

Fettes College in Edinburgh on Sunday 9 March, 2014. Te Championships carried the support of the RSPBA but they were independently organised and were funded through the auspices of the Tam O’Shanter Family Charitable Trust. Te primary aim of these Championships is to foster the formation and development of pipe bands in schools across Scotland, both public and private; but school bands from other parts of the UK can also enter. Other objectives are to provide a friendly atmosphere for schools which have never entered a pipe band competition before, and also to offer the opportunity of different levels of competition for bands which already have some competitive experience outwith the RSPBA system. Te Championships are planned to be an annual event. Entry was free of charge to the competitors and the spectators. Tose who had to travel long distances were also offered funding assistance towards the costs of travel and accommodation etc. Tis year the Championships offered five different levels of competition: Juvenile - for RSPBA registered Juvenile school and combined school bands from the same education authority; Novice Juvenile - for RSPBA registered Novice Juvenile school and combined bands from the same education authority. Junior ‘A’ - for school and combined school bands with some competition experience but not registered with the RSPBA; Junior ‘B’ - for school and combined school bands with experience of competing in the Debut section of these Championships in 2013; Debut - for school bands competing for their first time (including school bands reforming aſter an absence of at least three years, provided that none of the players had competed before). In addition there was an invitational Quartet Piping competition (held this year in the prestigious Fettes College in close proximity to Broughton High School) for individual schools as yet unable to form a band but who wished to give pipers competing experience. A completely new development this year was the introduction of a Freestyle Musicianship competition to conclude the Championships. Te Freestyle event was open to all schools, or groups of schools, from the same education authority. Its aim was to offer a less formal opportunity for schools with limited numbers of pipers or drummers and no band to participate in the Championships along with other types of musicians in their school; or to enable existing school bands to showcase their skills in an innovative concert-style performance. Te general idea was to illustrate to parents, teachers, education authorities and the public the musical scope and versatility of piping and drumming. Te 2014 event involved some 70 individual band performances across the various categories, representative of

Dollar Academy on their way to victory

96 individual schools, including the Ampleforth Highlanders from North East England. Piping, Drumming and Ensemble Adjudicators for the band competitions were provided by the RSPBA. Te Freestyle competition was judged by Robert Mathieson and Craig Munro, Gary West (BBC Scotland ‘Pipeline’) and Captain Tony Williams (Director of Music, Te Royal Regiment of Scotland). Te Quartet Piping competition was also judged by Robert Mathieson, Craig Munro and Gary West. Promoted under the banner 'Every School Needs a Pipe Band', the Championships were once again a great success with the programme running seamlessly due to the efforts of senior Broughton High School and Fettes College pupils who acted very efficiently as stewards and announcers. In general, with entries increased by around one third compared to 2013, the Championships highlighted the wealth of young talent which exists throughout the country providing the foundation for maintaining Scotland’s traditional music. One of the highlights of the day were the six performances in the Freestyle competition, each of which in their own way demonstrated how the boundaries of pipes and drums can be extended to involve other instruments tonally and musically, and at the same time achieving originality, innovation, ingenuity and musical impact. Te Freestyle event was very much an experiment this year but it success suggests that it will be repeated and expanded for the Championships in 2015. Juvenile: 1 Dollar Academy 2 George Watson’s 3 George Heriot’s Novice: 1 George Heriot’s 2 George Watson’s 3 Dollar Academy Jnr. 'A': 1 Dundee High School CCF 2 Glenalmond 'A' 3 Loretto CCF Jnr. 'B': 1 Queen Victoria School 2 Davidson’s Mains Cluster Schools 3 Knox Academy Debut Bands: 1Ross and Cromarty Schools 2 Renfrewshire Schools 3 Ampleforth Highlanders Quartet Piping: 1 Tobermory High School 2 St Agatha’s Primary School 3 Beath High School 'A' Freestyle Musicianship: 1 Gordonstoun 2 High School of Glasgow Highly Commended – Preston Lodge High School.

pb APRIL 2014 Pipe Band Magazine 15