Worlds 2025 – Review Part 2

On Friday August 15^th I attended the World Pipe Championships at Glasgow Green and due to my travel arrangements I was unable to listen to any of the Grade 1 performances.

The remainder of the day was not to be wasted however, as an afternoon of Juvenile competition was about to commence and for me that began at the main arena with performances from the five entrants.

By Gilbert Cromie

For competitors in any activity the target is often to get the opportunity to perform at stadiums such as Hampden Park, Wembley, Murrayfield etc so here was the opportunity for Juvenile bands to parade to the start line taken by the world’s top Grade 1 bands. 

It would be fair to say that each of the bands gave a good account of themselves, and they were a credit to their piping and drumming tutors and school. George Watson’s College from Edinburgh got the nod from the experienced adjudication team to take the Juvenile World Champion title for the second year in a row along with the drumming title.

Dollar Academy were 2^nd, George Heriot’s College 3^rd, Preston Lodge 4^th and Renfrew Schools 5^th. For those unfamiliar with this Juvenile grade, it should be noted that the bands were playing March, Strathspey and Reel sets of a similar complexity to that of  Grades 2, 3A and 3B and they achieved a very high standard.

On the completion of the Juvenile grade, I took a trip around the Novice Juvenile grades which were in full swing around the park and enjoying large support from parents, fellow pupils and pipe band fans from across the world. 

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The Novice Juvenile A grade had an entry of fourteen bands with each playing an MSR. The winners were West Lothian Schools with Lochgelly High School 2nd, George Watson’s College (also Best Drums) 3^rd, Brisbane Boys College 4^th,  Dundee High School 5^th, and Scots College, Sydney 6^th. 

The Novice Juvenile B had an entry of thirty bands each playing a March Selection. The bands were divided into two Qualifying sections with the top six from each going forward to a final which was held in the Grade 1 arena. The winners were St John’s College, Zimbabwe, with Scots College No 2 Band, Australia 2^nd, Scots College, Sydney 3^rd, Lochgelly High School 4^th, Oban High School 5^th and Dollar Academy 6^th. The drumming prize went to Glasgow Academy.

The RSPBA are to be congratulated for their vision in showcasing the Juvenile grades by filling an afternoon slot which was previously used by bands and drum majors to practice in. I believe that when this proposal was initially mooted there was some scepticism about it, however the large entry and increased spectator  attendances over the day will surely encourage the authorities to repeat it in future years.

Anyone involved in youth activities will know that at some point young people will move on to further education or employment, so for schools who run piping and drumming programmes there will be ups and downs in standards.

To counter this, quite a few of the schools have bands operating in two or three of the Juvenile grades. The outstanding work being done within the Scottish education system is also bringing more school bands into existence. No doubt the senior bands  in Scotland monitor the standards being achieved and recruit accordingly.

I am sure that readers will have noticed that five of the prizes across Novice Juvenile A & B went to overseas bands and in the past I believe that that has been the case with the Juvenile grade. For those countries which are not already embracing this promotion of tuition through schools the evidence of benefit to pupils* is there and its time they got moving.

A walk around the park also illustrated the support that these bands are receiving with the very best equipment from gazebos to uniforms to instruments and, most importantly, top class tutors. 

• A recent survey by the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust showed academic achievement was higher among pupils who studied piping and drumming as part of their curriculum. The decade-long study at Preston Lodge High School centred on nearly 80 pupils who took part in the school’s piping and drumming programme between 2014 and 2024. The findings showed they outperformed both local and national averages in key qualifications like Highers and Advanced Highers. 52% of band members achieved 5+ Highers (vs. 39% nationally, 27% at Preston Lodge); 40% of band members in SIMD 1 & 2 attained 1+ Advanced Highers (vs. 10.5% nationally). Lindsay MacKenzie of SSPDT said: ‘We believe this is the first study of its kind in Scotland and could have major implications for education policy, especially around closing the attainment gap and expanding access to structured music programmes in schools.’

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