Two national titles for Pipe Band

It was an incredible weekend of competition for St Andrew’s College at the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships, where the A Band won both the Juvenile competition, a title it has held for several years, and the Grade 2 championship, says Pipe Band Director, Richard Hawke.

“It was an outstanding achievement and a huge surprise to win Grade 2, as the A Band was competing against strong adult bands, including two from Australia. The students delivered two great performances and were rewarded with wins in both the March/Strathspey/Reel and Medley, the competition’s two events. They were also runners-up in drumming and won Best Bass and Tenor section in Grade 2. We are very proud of this highly talented group.”

Richard plays with the A Band but says when he is out of the equation, the average age of the band is around 16 years.

“To compete and beat bands with an average age of 30-plus in Grade 2 is a fantastic result. We have a great mix of boys and girls in the A Band with our youngest member in Year 10. We also had six Year 13 Leavers from 2024 playing in the A Band at the championships, including Pipe Major, Lucas Paterson and Drum Sergeant, Hayden Lam. Of particular note, was having seven Preparatory School students who were part of the C Band.”

A total of 65 students, including the Leavers, represented St Andrew’s at the two-day championships in Invercargill, where the B Band finished fourth out of nine bands in Grade 4A, and the C Band was fifth out of 17 bands in Grade 4B. A combined B and C Band was fourth out of 11 bands in the Juvenile Grade.

On the Friday night of the competition, the traditional Leavers’ Dinner was attended by around 140 St Andrew’s Pipe Band members, tutors, parents, and supporters.

“We recognised and honoured eight Year 13 Leavers, who had their last hurrah with the St Andrew’s Pipe Band.”

Richard says it was great having new Rector, Mark Wilson and his wife Judi, supporting the bands throughout the championships, where they got to experience the Pipe Band world for the first time, and were 'suitably impressed'.

The outstanding results are a testament to the strength and depth of the Pipe Band programme at St Andrew’s. Members of the A Grade who won the Juvenile and Grade 2 competitions were recognised at the Founders’ Day Assembly.