About The Centre

The National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music is an exciting opportunity for young Scottish traditional musicians to develop their talent to its full potential. We offer top class tuition and an all-round, in-depth experience in traditional music which includes individual tuition, groupwork, workshops and masterclasses, performing, recording, and the history and background of the music.

The Centre is a residential project based at Plockton High School, and students follow a normal comprehensive educational curriculum in addition to their specialist music studies.

Since its inception, the Centre has become nationally and internationally acclaimed. Students of the centre have performed at such major festivals as Celtic Connections, Scots Fiddle Festival, Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Tartan Week in New York City, TMSA festivals, and many other concert venues both locally and nationally. They have also performed at prestigious events in the presence of royalty, and senior politicians such as the First Minister and Minister for Education, in such places as the Scotland Office, the European Parliament, and the Palace of Holyrood House.

Students of the Centre come from all over Scotland, including the Western and Northern Isles. To date, pupils from 20 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have attended the Centre. This wide geographical spread ensures that the Centre is truly national, and all the many styles of Scotland’s traditional music and song are represented. Several of the students are fluent Gaelic speakers, and all of them are brought into contact with Gaelic and Scots as they all have some involvement with singing.

The Centre's tutors are all top class working professional musicians, and their expertise and the vocational nature of the curriculum ensure that all our leavers have what it takes to succeed in a musical career, whether they choose one or not!

Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd takes great pride in being designated an “All Steinway School”.

Aims of the Centre:


1. To provide the best possible quality of tuition and an all-round, in-depth experience of all aspects of Scottish traditional music.
2. To provide a pathway to potential careers in traditional music.
3. To liase closely with our host school, Plockton High School.
4. To foster links with the local community, and with the wider community of traditional music in Scotland and abroad.
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