Malawian girls’ choir wows international audiences in Scotland

This month, 20 girls from the Edinburgh Girls’ High School in northern Malawi have travelled 7,600 miles to the Scottish city that bears the same name as their school, to perform as part of the iconic Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Throughout the month of August, the school choir sang and danced to an audience of over 220,000 visitors at the annual spectacle including crowd-favourite ‘We Have Found the Honey’, a traditional chant accompanied by pipers from across the globe and a fun Hopscotch routine during the opening ceremony.

The young women performed alongside bagpipers, Highland dancers and military drill squads; but most importantly they shared the stage with their friends from the Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Earlier this month, the Malawian group also got the chance to greet Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, as she attended one of the performances as the show’s Salute Taker.

During their month-long visit to Scotland, each girl has been partnered with a ‘buddy’ from The Mary Erskine School where they have lived with a Scottish family.

Both schools share the same uniform and Latin motto – mitis et fortis, which translates to ‘gentle and brave’ in English.

The Edinburgh Girls’ High School was established in 2007, thanks to the significant funding from the Mary Erskine School community.

Ten years on the school is now attended by 160 girls, who share the same uniform and school motto as their Scottish counterparts. The two choirs were delighted to meet one another in person and perform together in one of Scotland and the UK’s biggest cultural celebrations.

Brigadier David Allfrey, Chief Executive and Producer of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “It is a complete pleasure for us to welcome 20 students and teachers from The Edinburgh Girls’ High School in Malawi to open our show with a traditional chant with all the warmth and joy for which that beautiful country is so famous.

“With buzz of honey bees, We Have Found the Honey starts our story and…. the girls close the Show with Amazing Grace.  We very much enjoyed visiting the school in Malawi as part of the build-up to the Show and are thrilled with all that this unique collaboration delivers both here in Scotland and in Malawi.”

In addition to nightly performances throughout August, the girls have been able to take some time out to visit other Scottish schools, an educational visit to a Scottish court and even take part in TV programme called Extreme Cake Makers.

This year The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has welcomed more than 1,200 international performers, with acts from Malawi and Oman to the Czech Republic and the USA, as well as show favourites, the Massed Pipes and Drums and the Tattoo Dance Company.

The 90-minute performance takes audiences on a journey through man’s greatest achievements under the theme ‘The Sky’s the Limit’, which also celebrates the RAF centenary and Scotland’s Year of Young People.

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