Start your championships engine: five 2026 RSPBA majors start with the British in Edinburgh

After a few “minor” contests, the UK’s 2026 pipe band competition season really gets going in Ingliston, on the west side of Edinburgh, with the British Championships, where a total of 124 bands are entered across the nine grades.

This year marks the return of the British to the RSPBA’s required five-major championships rota, after the event was not held in 2025 due to an apparent lack of sponsorship needed to stage the competition. Ingliston stepped up last year to sponsor the UK Championships in July, which saw 60 bands compete, mainly due to the date clashing with Scotland’s traditional family holiday period and a major cultural event in Northern Ireland.

Interestingly, 69 bands have entered for the 2026 UK Championships in Belfast on June 13th, nine more than competed at the 2025 competition in Edinburgh.

The most closely watched event at the 2026 British is the nine-band Grade 1 Medley competition. Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia got out of the gate quickly with a win at last week’s contest at Dollar, and will certainly hope to repeat Inveraray & District’s 2025 Worlds win after they won the same event last year.

Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia thus defends their British Championship title, which they won in 2024, the last time the event was held.

Notably, Grade 1 features the welcome return of Police Scotland & Federation to competition after a year’s hiatus. The band is now under the leadership of Pipe-Major Duncan Nicholson and Lead-Drummer Blair Faulds. Nicholson returns to the role for a third time after his highly successful pipe-majorships from 2010-15 and, for a few interim months, in 2020.

Every grade at the 2026 British is well-populated, but it will be a workout for judges, since no grade meets the 23-band threshold that requires it to be split into heats to qualify for a separate final.

The weather forecast for Edinburgh is for a high of 20°C (68°F) and a gentle breeze, but organizers will want to get a move on, since there’s an 80% chance of rain starting around 16:00. Despite the expansive grounds at Ingliston’s Royal Highland Centre, the RSPBA will reportedly run a time-consuming march-past finale rather than a quicker massed bands.

Below is an alphabetical list of bands entered in each grade, along with the judges and playing requirements for each event.

Be sure to stay with pipes|drums for results from the 2026 British Championships as they become available.

Grade 1 (Medley)

• Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland)
• Inveraray & District (Scotland)
• Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia
• Police Scotland & Federation (Scotland)
• Police Scotland Fife (Scotland)
• Ravara (Northern Ireland)
• ScottishPower (Scotland)
• Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland)
• St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland)
  Judges: Robert Mathieson, Cameron Edgar (piping); Paul Turner (drumming); Jim Semple (ensemble)

Grade 2 (MSR)

• Buchan Peterson (Scotland)
• Bucksburn & District (Scotland)
• City of Edinburgh (Scotland)
• Coalburn IOR (Scotland)
• Denny & Dunipace (Scotland)
• Grampian Police Scotland (Scotland)
• Johnstone (Scotland)
• Mackenzie Caledonian (Scotland)
• Manorcunningham (Ireland)
• Oban (Scotland)
• Royal Burgh of Annan (Scotland)
• TEXO Deeside Caledonia (Scotland)
• Uddingston (Scotland)
  Judges: Don Bradford, Barry Donaldson (piping); Lee Innes (drumming); Tom Brown (ensemble)

Grade 3A (Medley)

• Arbroath (Scotland)
• Burntisland & District (Scotland)
• City of Discovery (Scotland)
• City of Inverness (Scotland)
• City of London (England)
• City of Newcastle (England)
• City of Stirling (Scotland)
• Cloughfin (Northern Ireland)
• Concord (Netherlands)
• Dunbar Royal British Legion (Scotland)
• Elgin & District (Scotland)
• German Thistle (Germany)
• Livingston Caledonia (Scotland)
• Macanta (England) (Scotland)
• Major Sinclair Memorial (Scotland)
• Methil & District (Scotland)
• Pitlochry & Blair Atholl (Scotland)
• Scottish Borders (Scotland)
• Uddingston Strathclyde (Scotland)
  Judges: Iain Simpson, Grant Walker (piping); David Brown (drumming); Colin Moffett (ensemble)

Grade 3B (Medley)

• Camelon & District (Scotland)
• Culter & District (Scotland)
• East Ayrshire Caledonia (Scotland)
• Fraserburgh RBL (Scotland)
• Govan (Scotland)
• Kilbarchan (Scotland)
• Lower Clyde (Scotland)
• Rothesay & District (Scotland)
• Stockbridge (Scotland)
• The J1225 (Scotland)
• Troon Caledonia (Scotland)
• Vale of Atholl (Scotland)
• Wallacestone & District (Scotland)
• Williamwood (Scotland)
  Judges: Peter Hunt, Ross Walker (piping); Arthur Cook (drumming; Alex Dudgeon (ensemble)

Juvenile (MSR)

• Dollar Academy (Scotland)
• George Heriot’s School (Scotland)
• George Watson’s College (Scotland)
• Lochgelly High School (Scotland)
• Preston Lodge High School (Scotland)
• West Lothian Schools (Scotland)
  Judges: Don Bradford, Barry Donaldson (piping); Lee Innes (drumming); Tom Brown (ensemble)

Grade 4A (Prescribed MSR)

• Barrhead & District (Scotland)
• City of Discovery (Scotland)
• City of Plymouth (Scotland)
• City of St. Andrews (Scotland)
• Coupar Angus (Scotland)
• Denny & Dunipace (Gr4) (Scotland)
• Kinross & District (Scotland)
• Kirkcaldy & District (Scotland)
• Mid-Argyll (Scotland)
• Moneygore (Northern Ireland)
• Penicuik & District (Scotland)
• Perth & District (Scotland)
• RAF Lossiemouth (Scotland)
• Ratae (England)
• Strathendrick (Scotland)
  Judges: Iain Simpson, Grant Walker (piping); David Brown (drumming); Colin Moffett (ensemble)

Grade 4B (Prescribed Marches)

• 1st Troon Boys Brigade (Scotland)
• Arbroath (Scotland)
• City of Brechin (Scotland)
• Dean Castle (Scotland)
• Dumfries (Scotland)
• Dunoon Argyll (Scotland)
• East Kilbride (Scotland)
• Irvine & District (Scotland)
• Kilbarchan (Scotland)
• Kincardine & District (Scotland)
• Lanark & District (Scotland)
• Paisley & District RBL (Scotland)
• Queensferry (Scotland)
• Stockbridge (Gr4B) (Scotland)
• Troon Blackrock (Scotland)
• Uddingston Strathclyde (Scotland)
• Vale of Atholl (Scotland)
• Warrington (England)
  Judges: Peter Hunt, Ross Walker (piping); Arthur Cook (drumming; Alex Dudgeon (ensemble)

Novice A (Prescribed MSR)

• Dollar Academy (NovA) (Scotland)
• Erskine Stewart Melville Schools (Scotland)
• Falkirk Schools (Scotland)
• George Heriot’s School (Scotland)
• George Watson’s College (Scotland)
• High School of Dundee (Scotland)
• Lochgelly High School Junior (Scotland)
• North Lanarkshire Schools (Scotland)
• Oban High School (Scotland)
• Preston Lodge High School (Scotland)
• Renfrewshire Schools (Scotland)
• St. Columba’s School Kilmacolm (Scotland)
  Judges: Robert Mathieson, Cameron Edgar (piping); Paul Turner (drumming); Jim Semple (ensemble)

Novice B (Prescribed Marches)

• 47th Culter Boys Brigade (Scotland)
• Balerno & District Schools (Scotland)
• Bucksburn & District Novice (Scotland)
• Burntisland & District (Scotland)
• Dollar Academy (Scotland)
• Edinburgh Academy (Scotland)
• Falkirk Schools ’25 (Scotland)
• Glasgow Academy (Scotland)
• High School of Dundee (Scotland)
• Isle of Arran Music School (Scotland)
• North Lanarkshire Schools (Scotland)
• Oban High School (Scotland)
• Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia (NovB) (Scotland)
• Preston Lodge (Scotland)
• Renfrewshire Schools Development (Scotland)
• St. Columba’s School – Kilmacolm (Scotland)
• Stirling & District Schools Junior (Scotland)
• West Lothian Schools (Scotland)
  Judges: Don Bradford, Barry Donaldson (piping); Lee Innes (drumming); Tom Brown (ensemble)