Ripon Grammar School and Ripon Cathedral have joined forces to launch the school's first boarding scholarship.
Worth more than £4,300 per year, the position at the North’s top-performing state school - the first in living memory - is being offered to a gifted young musician with a passion for the organ.
The successful applicant will receive world class organ tuition, valued at £1,800 per year, in the inspiring surroundings of the city’s magnificent ancient cathedral, acclaimed for its distinguished musical heritage.
The sixth form scholarship also includes £2,500 towards boarding fees at RGS, renowned for its academic excellence and exceptional music provision, and recently named Sunday Times ‘Top State School in the North’ for the twelfth year.
Headmaster Jonathan Webb said the unique collaboration between the cathedral and the school aimed to nurture musical talent at the highest level while ensuring students thrive academically and personally in RGS’s vibrant boarding community:
“By working in partnership with Ripon Cathedral we are offering a truly distinctive opportunity: world-class organ tuition alongside an outstanding all-round education in a supportive boarding environment.
“We are proud to be opening doors for a young musician with the potential to flourish both academically and musically.”
He added that while the exciting development marked a new departure, believed to be the first boarding scholarship at RGS in around 100 years:
“It also strengthens the considerable music ties that exist between the school and the cathedral and our historic ties to the original Saxon foundation of a monastery and song school.”
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Dobson said:
“We at Ripon Cathedral are delighted to be strengthening further our creative and fruitful links with Ripon Grammar School through the organ scholarship, contributing the talent and enthusiasm of our acclaimed musicians and choral foundation.
“We look forward to helping more young people fulfil their potential and reach excellent standards of musical achievement.
“It gives hope for the future that the combination of a living church, education and the offering of music, which in Ripon goes back to the foundation the cathedral in the 7th century, is still proving life-giving in the 21st century.”
The cathedral’s young choristers have enjoyed a busy year, including the release of a choral anthems CD, a residency at Westminster Abbey and a tour of Bavaria.
The new boarding scholarship underlines a shared commitment by both institutions to excellence, opportunity and the enrichment of cultural life in Ripon.
Applications are now open (deadline: February 6), visit www.ripongrammar.co.uk for more information or email Pip Drummond at DrummondP@ripongrammar.com
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