School Organist + Teacher of Organ

Package Description

Required for: January 2026

Locations: Deans Yard - Westminster School + Vincent Square - Westminster Under School

Contract: part-time, permanent (School Organist) + self employed (VMT)

It is expected that the successful applicant will interview for and be appointed to both roles. 

The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 7th November 2025. 

Interviews will take place in the week beginning Mon 17 November, and will involve playing the Westminster Abbey Organ on the evening of Thursday 20 November. Applicants will teach an organ lesson, accompany a choir rehearsal, play the organ in Westminster Abbey, and attend an interview

Job Introduction

School Organist 

The School Organist is responsible for organ playing across the two Westminster Schools – Westminster School (WGS) and Westminster Under School (WUS). They will play the organ at all school functions and services predominantly in Westminster Abbey (WGS) and St Stephen’s Rochester Row (WUS), accompanying rehearsals where necessary. 

The pay for this role is £50.41 per hour for the 2025/26 academic year and is employed directly by the School. 

Organ Teacher (self-employed visiting music teacher or VMT)

Visiting Music Teachers are self-employed and it is their responsibility to invoice and receive directly from parents. For 2025-26, VMT rates are around £60p/h on average.  

It is expected that the successful applicant will interview for and be appointed to both roles. 

Main Responsibilities

School Organist

• Accompanying WGS services in Westminster Abbey on Monday and Friday mornings  (60 mins rehearsal + service: 8.30-9.30am) 
• Playing at WGS Latin Prayers on Wednesday mornings (60 mins rehearsal + service: 8.30-9.30am) 
• Organising the organ rota for Wednesday AM Latin Prayers (two services run concurrently) 
• Accompanying the WUS weekly service at St Stephen’s, Rochester Row on Thursday mornings (up to 90 mins rehearsal + service: c. 8.15-9.30am) 
• Playing for WGS evensongs in the School Chapel and in local churches (approximately 6-8 per academic year), typically on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, as agreed in advance with the Director of Music (120 mins rehearsal + service: 4.30-6.30pm) 
• Organising trips and masterclasses for the schools’ organ students e.g. St Paul’s Cathedral with James Orford (2025), Westminster Cathedral with Simon Johnson and Peter Stevens (2024), The Guards’ Chapel’s Harrison and Harrison with Peter Holder and Martin Ford (2024).  
• Writing references in support of student applications for organ courses (e.g. Creative Oundle) or organ awards (e.g. Oxford and Cambridge Organ Award Trials)  

In addition to the hours stated above, the School Organist will be remunerated for four hours of administration and preparation time per week. 

For extra remuneration, the post holder is required to attend additional rehearsals, concerts and auditions as agreed with the Directors of Music in advance. For example: 

• Playing for the annual WGS Carol Service and the Leavers’ Service (Westminster Abbey), the Elizabethan Carol Service and the WUS Carol Service (St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey), and the Commemoration of Benefactors (biennial) and other large-scale services and concerts 

The successful candidate may additionally wish to accompany the WGS and WUS choirs on tours both in the UK and abroad. 

Organ Teacher

The postholder will provide pupils with the opportunity to play the organ at a suitable stage within their development as keyboard players, and take a leading role in encouraging meaningful progress throughout a pupil’s time at both schools. Where appropriate, Westminster School pupils (13-18) should be encouraged to play the Harrison & Harrison organ in the school’s Abbey services, and the organs in both the School Hall and School Chapel for Latin Prayers and Evensong. Westminster Under School pupils (currently 7-13) should be encouraged to play the organ at St Stephen’s, Rochester Row, during weekly services. 

More able organ students should be trained as recitalists, repetiteurs, improvisers and choral directors, in order to prepare them for future studies should they wish to continue their organ playing in higher education. 

The School Organist/Organ Teacher is responsible to the Directors of Music at Westminster School and Westminster Under School. 

Presently, the organ is taught in both schools by both the current postholder and one other organ teacher. The School Organist co-ordinates the allocation of organ pupils to both him/herself and the second teacher. 

If you would like any more information regarding music at Westminster please contact the Director of Music of Westminster School, Tim Garrard. Email: tim.garrard@westminster.org.uk Tel: 020 7963 1017 

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the attached person specification for further details.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster Under School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

About The School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our staff are friendly and welcoming and all new teachers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here, both inside and outside the classroom. Social events are regular and varied, with plenty of opportunity to socialise outside working hours.

It also does not matter where you come to us from. Some teachers come to us straight from university or having just taken a PGCE. Some have taught in independent schools before while others come from the state sector, or another industry altogether. The common ground is that all our teachers have a great knowledge and love for their subject and are willing to be fully involved in the life of the School and the lives of the children who study here. The School has a vibrant co-curricular programme that offers a wide range of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum. We welcome candidates who can contribute their energy and expertise to the co-curricular life of the School as well as the academic.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. However, we know we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 13-18 and girls aged 16-18, with a long history, a distinctive ethos, and a unique sense of place in the very heart of London. Pupils achieve exceptional examination results and entrance to some of the top universities in the world. It is a busy, passionate and purposeful place where independent and deep thinking is enjoyed, encouraged and respected by all, and where holistic excellence is nurtured and valued.

While the School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence in the country, its commitment to academic life does not make it a hothouse for passing examinations. Pupils’ success at examinations and entry to leading universities is instead a result of their enjoyment of academic enquiry, debate and search for explanation, well beyond published syllabuses. Pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged and our aim is to ensure that their enthusiasm for learning is developed further, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them in the future. At Westminster, pupils have the freedom to lead on projects outside of the classroom and embrace a whole range of extra-curricular activities and interests. A host of pupil-led societies take place every week at the School, often with expert guest speakers, and pupils can choose to study an additional language, play an instrument or two, volunteer in local primary schools, row along the Thames, take part in plays and musicals, and much more. 

The School’s ethos resides in the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the 1560 Charter of Westminster’s Elizabethan foundation, where it is stated that: ‘the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state’. Whilst academic and cultural attainments are highly prized at Westminster, the School is fully committed also to each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies – and to prepare young people for fulfilled private and public lives.

From September 2028, the School will welcome both girls and boys at 13+ entry, offering a Westminster education to all. By 2026, Westminster Under School will have opened its brand new pre-prep for girls and boys at 4+ and girls will have joined boys in Years 3 and 7, at the 7+ and 11+ entry points. By 2030, all year groups at Westminster School and Westminster Under School, from ages four to 18, will be fully co-educational, reflecting the School’s dedication to inclusivity and excellence.