The Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships will be held on Sunday, 8th March, 2026. Entries close on January 30th. The venue is the William McIlvaney Campus in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Enter here. No entry fee.
There are categories for Quartets, Junior C, Junior B, Junior A, Novice Juvenile B, Novice Juvenile A, Juvenile and Freestyle, plus the Eilidh MacLeod Endeavour Award, which honours dedication and spirit.
Substantial prizes are on offer:
Travel grants: State schools more than 100 miles away qualify for £500 in travel assistance, or £1,000 where a ferry and two overnights are required.
Quartets based more than 100 miles away quality for reimbursement of 20p per mile and/or public transport costs up to £200. For two overnights, transport and accommodation of up to £400 can be claimed.
Sponsors include the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor should contact admin@sspdt.org.uk and request the sponsorship package.
The CLASP
The CLASP had its first in-person competition of the year at the NPC, Otago Street, Saturday 10th January 2026, writes Margaret Houlihan. A good turnout, and we are now looking ahead to the next ‘Live Online’ CLASP competition in February.
Overall winners pictured are (l-r), Arthur Bass (Grade 3), Anthony Kelly (Grade 2), Owain Woodman Carr (Grade 1):
G1 Piob: 1 Owain Woodman Carr 2 John Nevans 3 Stewart Allan 4 Graham Farr 5 Charles Dunbar 6 Adam Aitchison; G2 Piob: 1 Iain McGeachie 2 Callum Kirk 3 Anthony Kelly 4 William Fallon 5 Sophie Stringer 6 Alistair Robinson; G3 Piob: 1 Sven Vollberg 2 Richard Johnson 3 Arthur Bass 4 Stephen Birch
G1 March: 1 Callum Kirk 2 Owain Woodman Carr 3 Lou Reid 4 Adam Aitchison 5 Douglas Small 6 Graham Farr; G1 S&R: 1 Adam Aitchison 2 Callum Kirk 3 Lou Reid 4 Graham Farr 5 Owain Woodman Carr 6 Stewart Allan; G1 6/8: 1 Adam Aitchison 2 Callum Kirk 3 Owain Woodman Carr 4 Lou Reid 5 Graham Farr 6 John Nevans
G2 March: 1 Johnny Barr 2 Bobby Curtain 3 Alistair Robinson 4 Tony Dorothy 5 Jack Lang 6 Anthony Kelly; G2 S&R: 1 Alistair Robinson 2 Anthony Kelly 3 Bobby Curtain 4 Johnny Barr 5 Jack Lang 6 Sophie Stringer; G2 6/8: 1 Bobby Curtain 2 Tony Dorothy 3 Anthony Kelly 4 Alistair Robinson 5 Jack Lang 6 Sophie Stringer
G3 March: 1 Arthur Bass 2 Sven Vollberg 3 Stephen Birch 4 Charles Dunbar 5 Cameron Davidson 6 Iain McGreachie; G3 S&R: 1 Arthur Bass 2 Charles Dunbar 3 Cameron Davidson 4 Stephen Birch 5 Sven Vollberg 6 Sally Mason; G3 Jig: 1 Arthur Bass 2 Charles Dunbar 3 Jamie Thomas 4 Cameron Davidson 5 Sally Mason 6 Sven Vollberg
Easy and Intermediate Level 2/4 Marches
The two-part tunes are suitable for the beginner and the others for those at an intermediate stage of learning – or indeed those returning to piping after many years absence. They are the perfect follow-on to Tutor Books 1 & 2. They are all played in full on the practice chanter by Robert Wallace at both slow speed and then at a slightly quicker tempo. That way the student can play along and learn the way of the tunes, the…