The Knox Grammar Pipes and Drums and Cadet Drill Teams travelled to the UK during the winter holiday break to compete at a major international competition and perform at a number of events around Scotland, England and Belgium.
It has been four years since the Pipes and Drums embarked on a tour of the UK and this tour, for the first time, incorporated a Drill Team from the Cadet Unit, which includes students from Ravenswood.
The teams enjoyed a mix of competition, performance and training, with opportunities to learn from piping and drum experts, as well as sightseeing and visits to significant historical sites.
The first public performance was at the European Pipe Band Championships in Aberdeen, alongside 100 pipe bands from across the UK and worldwide.
Head of Pipes and Drums Ainsley Hart said the Knox competition bands put in impressive performances, showing significant improvement from the local season, in highly competitive fields.
The students were kept busy across the country with a series of solo performances, quintet performances, mini-band performances, as well as the traditional competition band and massed bands displays, and collected a raft of medals and trophies from their stellar performances.
In London, the teams visited the Royal Hospital Chelsea to play in the beautiful courtyard for the Chelsea Pensioners, where they were joined by Knox Headmaster Scott James and Mrs Louise James.
The Belgium leg of the tour was a highlight, with a walking tour of the historic Ypres city, a full day’s tour of the battlefields and sites significant to Australian soldiers, topped off with a combined performance at the magnificent Cloth Hall and the poignant Menin Gate evening Last Post commemoration.
Mr Hart said the tour was "an unparalleled success".
"The tour would not have been possible without the support of the schools and the hard-working teams, both behind the scenes and leading the tour," he said.
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