In such a busy examination term, it is notable that so many boys have found time to participate in musical activities and many of the latter have already been mentioned in the context of the 175th Anniversary Celebrations. This term, by kind invitation of the Paterson family, our Close Harmony Group and Pipe Band gave a first rate concert in Ladybank Church, Fife, as a prelude to their summer holiday tour to Canada. (We have also seen several GCSE compositions by the boys performed over the course of the year, including at a Rock Band Concert!) One of my highlights of the term is the annual Concert with Local Primary Schools, which this year involved pupils from Pringle and St George's School for Girls, as well as St Peter's and Balgreen Primary Schools. Balgreen and St Peter's children were attending this annual event (now in its 11th year) for the first time. Each school performed a variety of songs lasting no longer than 15 minutes, and it is now traditional for everyone to join in a singalong at the end. This time, I enjoyed hearing all 200 pupils concluding the Concert by singing When the saints go marching in and the audience joined the children in a final rendition, not before we had had a singing lesson from Peter Hall (Head of Pringle)! Singing is therapeutic! St George's girls brought a recorder group, as did our own pupils; all 122 Pringle boys also performed an African-style piece for drums and voices by Ruth Cohen!
 This is always an extremely busy term for the Pipe Bands, both in terms of performing and also playing in important competitions. The Piping and Drumming Concert was held in the Memorial Hall, with 10 boys in the chanter group, 34 playing the bagpipes, and 22 drumming. All three Bands (Pringle, Castle and Senior) played Highland Cathedral at the end, accompanied by the organ. Piping is flourishing in the School and, at present, around 100 pupils are involved. Our pipers and drummers again participated in the ceremony of Beating Retreat by the massed Pipes and Drums of the Scottish Schools’ CCF, in which over 200 pipers, drummers and dancers performed on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The previous evening, Beating Retreat by the Edinburgh Schools’ CCF took place on the Forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the presence of George Reid, the former speaker of the Scottish Parliament. In external competitions, the Pipe Band came 8th in the Glasgow Highland Club event; Angus Sinclair won 3rd place in the 14 Years and Under Solos, and Marinus Maris came 2nd in the Intermediate (15-17). The Scottish Schools’ CCF Piping and Drumming Competition took place at Loretto this year; Aaron Danelian came 3rd in the Junior Solo Drumming, and Gavin Robertson too won 3rd place in the Drum Major Contest. The Pipe Band played at Dalhousie Castle, Bo’ness Children’s Fair and on Prizegiving Day before heading off to Canada for a joint tour with the Close Harmony Group.
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