Watch: Edinburgh pipers playing Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill

Young Edinburgh Pipe Band release cover of Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hil

The song has been recorded by Davidson’s Mains and District Pipe Band after they first played it in the freestyle category of the Scottish Schools Championship.

And the performance went down so well that the group has now released a new music video against a backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

The project was the brainchild of the band’s founder, Clare Miller, who runs the group on top of her work as a pipe and drum teacher at Davidson’s Mains Primary School and the Royal High School.

She said: “One of the things when I started the band off was I didn’t want to just have a competing band where we go to competitions and that’s it.

“We have always tried to do different things but this has been a whole different world for us.

“We had a great time, the kids really enjoyed it [and] the response has been great.

“Obviously the pipe band world love it because it’s kids playing and everybody likes to see the new generation of pipers and drummers coming through which is fantastic. But it’s also been really well-received from the wider audience.”

Ms Miller, 33, said any proceeds made from the song – recorded at the Capital’s Banana Row Studios – will be donated to the charity Cash for Kids.

The project has already earned the thumbs-up from industry leaders such as Craig Munro of the Red Hot Chili Pipers, who is also a judge at the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships.

Band secretary Fiona Forsyth explained that they had to get permission from Sheeran’s management to record the song, adding it would be the icing on the cake if the hit singer managed to watch the video.

“I think all anyone would like would be if we knew he’d watched it and the kids got a comment that he’d seen it,” she said.

“I have emailed his management and Sony Music but we’ll see – fingers crossed.

“That would be the ultimate accolade for the kids, that Ed Sheeran – an international star – had seen it.”

But she added: “We have no expectations. We didn’t do it because we thought it was going to be something – it’s about experience.

“The kids are quite cool about it, they loved recording it.”

Alexandra Duncan, chief executive of the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust, said the band should be congratulated on responding to worldwide interest in their music.

She said: “Davidson’s Mains school pipe band is a fantastic example of what pupils, parents and tutors can achieve in a very short space of time.

“Tuition started just seven years ago and since then pupils, parents and the community have gone on an exciting journey, competing in national events, performing in the school and community and creating their own take on contemporary music.”

The band’s song can be downloaded online from iTunes, with the music video available to watch on YouTube.

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