Block 1
Autumn
Thu 20 Aug to Thu 1 Oct 2026
7 Thursdays
£49
Fees
Booking a place.
Places are booked a block at a time. Here is how that works and what it costs.
Block 1 is under way. Thursday 20 August to Thursday 1 October.
Five blocks across the school year.
Blocks run in term time and follow the Argyll and Bute school terms.
Block 2
Winter
Thu 22 Oct to Thu 17 Dec 2026
9 Thursdays
£63
Block 3
New Year
Thu 7 Jan to Thu 4 Feb 2027
5 Thursdays
£35
Block 4
Spring
Thu 18 Feb to Thu 1 Apr 2027
7 Thursdays
£49
Block 5
Summer
Thu 22 Apr to Thu 24 Jun 2027
10 Thursdays
£70
More than one child?
There is a family rate for siblings. Get in touch and I will work out your block fee.
If the cost is difficult for any reason, please just ask.
Each block runs every Thursday between the dates shown. If a date has to come out for a hall clash or an event, the number of sessions and the fee for that block change with it. Both are confirmed before booking opens.
What your child is joining.
Etive Pipers is one programme with a clear route through it, from a first tune on the chanter to playing well on the pipes. Every pupil knows what they are working on, what comes next, and what good playing sounds like at their stage.
What we are really teaching is musicianship. Pupils learn to read music and work things out for themselves rather than copying a tune back, and to make their own decisions about how a tune should sound. Some go on to write their own. The aim is a young player who can pick up a piece of music and do something with it, long after they have stopped needing a teacher.
And they do it together. Young players get pushed by the people beside them, pick things up from the group above, and find something in playing a tune properly as an ensemble that no amount of practice alone will give them.
The aim is simple: young musicians who play like they mean it.
What you actually do.
01
Confirm the place
A few weeks before each block, I will send you the dates and ask whether your child is carrying on. Places not confirmed by the date given may be offered to families waiting for a space.
02
Pay before it starts
One payment covers the block. The Winter and Summer blocks can be split into two payments if that helps. Just ask.
03
The place is theirs
Your child's spot in their group is held for every session in the block, and I know to expect them each week.
New to Etive Pipers
Come along for a free taster session before committing to anything. If it suits, you can join partway through a block and pay only for the sessions left.
If the cost is a problem
Speak to me privately. The Etive Pipers Fund exists partly for this, and something can always be arranged. It stays between us, and no child has ever been turned away over money.
Where the money goes
Block fees pay for the teaching and the hall. Donations and grants are separate and go to the Etive Pipers Fund, which buys chanters, pipes and reeds, supports travel, and covers places for families who need help.
The things people ask.
Everything families ask about blocks, payment and missed weeks. Anything else, just ask.
Ask a question →What if my child misses a week?
The fee holds your child's place for the whole block, so a missed week is not refunded or carried over. Please do still let me know, so I can plan the session. Your child is also welcome to sit in with another group that block to pick up whatever they missed.
What if we have a clash one week?
It happens, and it is fine. Let me know and your child can catch up with another group that block. What matters is that the place is held and they are part of the group across the term.
What if you cancel a session?
It gets rescheduled, or I add an extra week to the end of the block. You will never lose a session you have paid for.
Can we still pay week by week?
No, places are for the whole block. It is what lets each group work through a term together.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes, for the Winter and Summer blocks. Just ask and we will split it in two. I would much rather sort something out than lose a piper over timing.
What if we want to stop?
Just tell me before the next block opens, and that is the end of it. There is nothing to give notice on beyond that. Once a block has started, fees are not refunded.
Can my child join partway through a block?
Yes, if there is space in the right group. You pay only for the sessions remaining.
Is there a waiting list?
Yes, when groups are full. Pupils already in a group always get first refusal on their place before it is offered to anyone waiting.
What about the school holidays?
Blocks cover term time only, so holidays are never charged for. Anything I run during a holiday is arranged and priced separately, and announced on its own.
Block 1 is under way.
You can still join partway through and pay only for the Thursdays that are left.