FAQ

The PDQB was established in 2006 under a Partnership Agreement drawn up by the College of Piping, National Piping Centre, Piobaireachd Society, Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming, and Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association to certificate the qualifications awarded jointly by these 5 organisations.

The PDQB comprises two representatives nominated by each of the 5 partner organisations. The Partnership Agreement provides for the Board to be chaired by one of the members, who is appointed on a rotational basis; and it has a Secretary/Treasurer who is appointed under the same procedure. The PDQB also has authority to co-opt short-term specialist advisers.

The objectives of the PDQB, on behalf of the 5 partner organisations, are to:

* set standards for a unified qualifications structure for playing, teaching, examining and adjudicating the Great Highland Bagpipe, Pipe Band Drumming, Pipe Bands and Drum Majors;

* jointly design, develop, quality assure, assess and certificate qualifications in the unified structure;

* approve centres for awarding qualifications in the unified structure;

* liaise with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding national accreditation of these qualifications and alignment to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF); and

* approve PDQB instructors and assessors nationally and internationally.

No. Except for the Pipe Band Studies Certificate, applicants can take an examination at any level provided that they are confident that they have the knowledge, understanding and practical ability. At each of the higher Levels, however, candidates will be expected to be able to answer questions related to, or meet the practical requirements of, the syllabus for the lower Levels.

No. Applicants can apply to take the examination directly if they feel that they have the relevant knowledge, understanding and practical ability. Applications must be made through one of the official PDQB Examination Centres and all candidates must be registered with a Centre. It is the responsibility of the Centre to arrange the examination and appoint the Assessor. Under no circumstances can Tutors or Teachers, who are also approved PDQB Assessors, conduct assessments for candidates they have taught.

Each of the Examination Centres offers a range of training programmes which lead to the PDQB examinations. The timing and structure of these programmes vary between Centres. Details can be obtained direct from any of the Centres.

Yes please check our Bibliography link on the site for recommended reading.

The Piobaireachd Society does not have the infrastructure to sustain its own Examination Centre and is content for its candidates to be examined through one of the other organisations. The other 4 partner organisations are recognised as PDQB Examination Centres through which all PDQB examinations must be arranged in the interests of consistency and quality assurance.

Examinations can be taken by anyone through the College of Piping, National Piping Centre or RSPBA. Examinations arranged and conducted through the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming are for Armed Forces personnel only.

Examinations can be conducted at a location which suits the candidate provided that the site meets PDQB standards. However, examinations can only be arranged through one of the 4 PDQB Examination Centres and candidates must first register with one of these Centres. Certificates can only be issued through the official Examination Centres, and only the official Examination Centres can arrange an Assessor to conduct PDQB examinations.

Contact one of the 4 Examination Centres in writing, by telephone or by email and the Centre will make arrangements for registration and for the examination to be taken at the Centre or in another country by an appointed Assessor.

Unfortunately refunds will not be possible as the administration costs and the Assessor’s fee would still require to be met.

All PDQB qualifications are supported jointly by the 5 partner organisations and represent common standards and quality assurance.

The Piping and Pipe Band Drumming qualifications are now validated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and are certificated jointly by the SQA and PDQB as National Progression Awards in Scottish Bagpipes or Scottish Pipe Band Drumming or Professional Development Awards in Scottish Bagpipes (for higher Levels of Piping) within Scotland’s national qualifications structure. These qualifications represent national standards in both theory and performance.

The Pipe Band Studies Certificate, which will be certificated solely by the PDQB, will offer valuable advice and information on creating, teaching, developing and tuning Pipe Bands, as well as planning and presenting Pipe Band performances, in the form of a corporate approach which has not been attempted before.

Each of the PDQB Examination Centres is required to maintain strict standards laid down by the PDQB, and each Examination Centre is responsible for ensuring the consistency of the standards applied by its Assessors for all PDQB qualifications. Each Centre must undertake regular audits to ensure consistency of delivery and assessment.
Occasional joint audits will also be conducted between the PDQB Centres.

Each of the PDQB Examination Centres has been approved by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to offer the National Progression Awards in Scottish Bagpipes and Scottish Pipe Band Drumming, and the Professional Development Awards in Scottish Bagpipes. The PDQB Examination Centres must adhere to SQA quality standards for administering and assessing these examinations. The SQA undertakes audit checks (external verification) on a regular basis.

All candidates for the National Progression Awards in Scottish Bagpipes and Scottish Pipe Band Drumming, and the Professional Development Awards in Scottish Bagpipes will require to register with one of the PDQB Examination Centres. It will be the responsibility of the Centre to arranged the examination and to appoint the Assessor. The Examination Centre will notify the results to SQA and the SQA will issue the Certificate to successful candidates.

All the PDQB qualifications will be at sub-degree level. Each of the National Progression Awards and Professional Development Awards will have a Level and Credit Points within the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) (see relationship chart on Home Page).

The SCQF is a Scottish Government-supported initiative which promotes lifelong learning. The Framework describes courses and learning programmes which lead to qualifications, helps develop and identify progression routes, and allows individuals to make the most of opportunities to transfer Credit Points between qualifications. The SCQF has 12 Levels which reflect the progressive complexity of learning and Credit Points are used in each Level to quantify learning outcomes and give them a value or currency. SCQF Credit Points relate to the number of hours required to achieve a qualification. Each SCQF Credit Point equates to the learning outcomes achieved through a notional 10 hours of learning.
Full details of the SCQF can be obtained on www.scqf.org.uk

Linkage to the SCQF adds to the status of the qualifications and identifies the relationship with other qualifications in terms of learning outcomes and complexity. It may also be possible for individuals to transfer credit, where relevant, between PDQB qualifications and other music qualifications, as well as assist progression to higher level qualifications associated with Piping or Pipe Band Drumming (i.e. degree level qualifications taken through the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RASMD)).

National accreditation and SCQF linkage should also facilitate credit links between PDQB qualifications and national systems in other countries.

Work in developing the Pipe Band Studies syllabus, examinations and course material is currently being progressed and completion is taking longer than expected.
As the Pipe Band Studies qualification will be an entirely new approach it is likely that all applicants will require to undertake a training course. It is hoped that the first course will be available in 2012.

Applicants will not be accepted for these Certificates unless they have achieved the PDQB Level 4 Certificate in Piping or Pipe Band Drumming (or National Progression Award SCQF Level 6 in Scottish Bagpipes or Scottish Pipe Band Drumming).

These qualifications no longer exist. Only the PDQB qualifications are now available from the 5 partner organisations.

All Certificates issued under the previous Institute of Piping and RSPBA systems will be accepted by the PDQB partner organisations as equivalent to the relevant level of the new awards. Details of the equivalencies can be obtained from the Examination Centres.