Moray Council is to ask its young people whether they would like to see pipes and drums taught in its schools.
Moray is one of the only north councils not to offer pipes and drums as part of its music tuition service. Highland, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils all offer pupils the chance to learn the traditional instruments.
Now, the council is under pressure to offer free lessons in the pipes and drums.
This follows a commitment from the Scottish Government to fund free music tuition for pupils in Scotland.
However, the council’s education committee was divided on the issue when it met this week. Councillors decided to ask young people for their views – and ow we’re asking you for yours.
Invest in our heritage, say pipers
Although the Scottish Government is providing more money for music tuition, Moray Council says it only covers costs for one year. And it won’t cover the cost of extending the service to include new instruments.
Delivering pipes and drums tuition for free across its schools could cost the council up to £232,000. However, Moray pipers and prominent councillors say it’s well worth the money.
“We’ve been working hard for four or five years now to get schools to pick up free tuition in pipes and drums,” says John Channon, chairman of Forres and District Pipe Band.
“We genuinely feel, this is our heritage, the pipes and drums. It also offers young people a skill for life, and there are all the social activities too. It would be wonderful if the council decided to support it.”
Forres Pipe Band created a new charity five years ago which offered school-based tuition, funded by the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust. However, parents had to pay £6 an hour for tuition.
Mr Channon says their ultimate ambition is to see pipes and drums introduced for all school children, free of charge.
Bite the bullet
His cause was taken up by local councillors George Alexander and Lorna Creswell, who took a successful motion to Moray council in September. Mr Alexander branded it “ridiculous” that volunteers have carried the can up until now.
“I propose the council bite the bullet and make a real investment in music tuition,” he said. “Pipes and drums are a huge part of the Scottish tourist trade, and all these years we’ve depended on volunteers to keep the tradition going. Let’s do something really positive for our young people in Moray.”
However, other members questioned whether it was right to ‘cherry pick’ certain instruments. Councillor Amy Taylor said she’d rather see broadened access. “If we’re going to be spending money, I’d like to see a focus on universal music education so that all children can participate,” she said.
What do Moray pupils want?
Moray’s music tuition service has suffered from cutbacks over the years, which Mr Alexander says is down to a reduced core grant from the Scottish Government.
There are currently 149 young people waiting to learn an instrument, and council officers have questioned whether there may be more demand for popular instruments like the piano and guitar, or voice lessons.
Instead of funding pipes and drums, one option is to channel money into a Moray Music Fund, which any group could bid into.
Councillor Frank Brown called for more consultation to find out what young people want. “Personally I don’t like the pipes and drums but that’s neither here nor there,” he said.
“There are lots of other instruments young people want to play and we’re not making a special case for them. What we should be doing now is getting the information we need to make an informed decision.”
He added: “We need to look at the whole picture, not just grab a bit of it.”
The councillors agreed that the education service should consult young people and come back with a report in time for budget decisions next February.
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