Monty, who has since turned eight, is the son of Rocco and Natasha Reeve-Gray and until last term went to St Michael’s. He is the second of four boys.
He is the youngest member of the Town Choristers, who are based at the Town Church. Director of music Kenneth Francis said that it is unusual for a probationer to be accepted at such a young age.
‘We wish him well and we are delighted he has got in to Wells Cathedral,’ he said. ‘Monty is just a thoroughly lovely, intelligent boy. He’s a bundle of fun – and we will miss him something awful.’
This week the Town Choristers said goodbye to Monty and presented him with a robed bear that they have named Helier.
Mr Francis added that as a probationer, Monty would be learning the ropes and it would be hard work. ‘The choristers’ schedule is so busy that they are not allowed to leave until after Christmas Day, even the probationers,’ he said.
His father said that their decision to send Monty to the UK has been guided by those who say that Monty’s voice is exceptional, including teachers Lorraine Hiller and Nikki Baudains.
‘An international examiner called us to say that she was amazed by his voice and had never heard anything like it in 20 years,’ Rocco said.
Monty, who starts his new venture on 3 September, admitted that he was slightly nervous about going but he is looking forward to it. ‘I will miss my friends but I will make new ones,’ he said.
And what he is looking forward to the most is learning the harp. ‘And I get to sing for an hour or two every single day.’
Rocco said that the pastoral care was excellent at Wells Cathedral, where the deputy house master is a Jerseyman. ‘We will go and see Monty every weekend and his grandparents live nearby,’ he said.
‘An international examiner called us to say that she was amazed by his voice and had never heard anything like it in 20 years,’
As for Monty’s future ambitions, ‘I want to be a chef,’ he says without hesitation.
His dad added: ‘He wants to run his own restaurant in Paris called The White Submarine.’
The earliest record of a school for choristers in Wells dates from 909, when the church of Wells was made a Cathedral. This puts Wells Cathedral School among the oldest schools in Europe.
However the school has never been traditionalist and has always been enthusiastic to embrace new ideas. In 1969 it became one of the first independent schools to become fully co- educational, when twenty-nine girls arrived in the Junior School. Even today Wells is one of the few that can claim to be genuinely 50/50. Girls and boys are evenly integrated, from Nursery through to Sixth Form. We are committed to co-education in all that we do, believing that this is a normal and natural extension of family life, enhancing the way children grow up together and allowing them to explore their identities.
From 1970 onwards girls were admitted to all areas. In the same year, twelve young violinists were admitted to the newly endowed Music School, whose building was officially opened in 1974 by Lord Goodman, then Chairman of the Arts Council.
The decision in the 1970s to incorporate the Specialist Music Scheme means that Wells is the only one of the four Specialist Music Schools supported by the DfE to operate within the context of a proper school.
We were one of the first choir schools to introduce Girl choristers in 1994. In 2000 we embraced new developments when the world was rapidly changing by delivering aspects of the A-Level curriculum online.
Today it is a thriving co-educational school, incorporating choristers and talented musicians alongside the general school community.
The Governing Body comprises three out of the eight members of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral together with up to nine lay governors. The Dean is the Chairman of Governors.
The school is supported by a number of consultants who provide advice in specialized areas.
Source: www.wellscathedralschool.org
