A WEE COUNTY teenager has been successfully accepted into the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

Lucy Kettyles, 14, went through two auditioning phases during her application, blowing judges away and securing a place on the band.

Lucy, from Alloa, has now met up with the rest of the band and will focus on rehearsals ahead of their big show in Perth next year.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Lucy said she was delighted to be accepted and looks forward to getting stuck into rehearsals.

“I’m quite buzzing to be honest,” she said. “I really didn’t expect it so when I got the email saying I had been accepted, I was quite excited.

“Once a month, we have training in the Piping Centre in Glasgow and I’m part of the development band to train for the show in Perth.”

Lucy recently completed an army cadets pipe and drummer camp, where she entered three competitions, coming first in all of them.

Training for the show in Perth begins next month, where she will join up with the rest of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland to put on a grand show.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Lucy’s mum Tanja Kettyles said she was over the moon that her hard work has paid off.

She added: “We are very proud of her and this is a great chance for her to be able to develop her skills further.

“She will be able to make new friends and take part in new experiences so this will be really good for her.

“She started piping just a year ago from the cadets, she joined a pipe band and she has become really into it.

“From there, she tried for the National Youth Band and she was lucky enough to get in.”

Lucy has been involved in army cadets for a number of years and transitioned from the cadets into the pipe band regiment.

In order for Lucy to be accepted into the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, she had to record and send an audition video.

She was then invited to a workshop at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow to take part in a face-to-face audition.

Lucy received an email just a couple of weeks later to confirm her acceptance, leaving her delighted.

Tanja added: “She got an email to say she had been accepted and now she is busy rehearsing throughout the winter.

“They have a big concert in April in Perth to conclude the year, so it’s all very exciting for her.”