Stuart Thompson has been the Executive Music Lead for the Warwick Schools Foundation for just under three years, working with the schools within the Foundation, our partners "The Orchestra of the Swan" and the wider community including leading our project "Warwick A Singing Town" to develop the best possible musical opportunities and experiences for students across Warwick and beyond.

Music has been a major part of his life from an early age, beginning as a chorister at Winchester Cathedral and leading to his further education at the Royal Academy of Music becoming the first Postgraduate in Church Music, studying composition with Francis Grier, organ with Christopher Bowers-Broadbent and choral conducting with Patrick Russill and David Hill as well as being composer in residence at Westminster Cathedral.

His compositions have won several national awards and have been performed and recorded by The BBC Singers and The Bach Choir as well as being broadcast regularly on national and international radio and television.

Stuart became the Director of Music for the Cathedral and Diocese of Leeds where he established the first Girls choir in a Catholic Cathedral in England. This has now developed into one of the largest choral programmes for young people in the country. During this time, he worked at the University of Huddersfield, directed numerous choral societies and regularly appeared as a jazz singer with "Something Else"!

He then moved into working in schools full time, beginning as Assistant Director of Music and Head of Musical Theatre at Caterham School whilst completing his MBA in School Leadership at the Institute of Education. He became a Governor at Warlingham School during this period, and he remains a Governor in a large secondary school in Loughborough to this day.

School leadership positions then followed, including Deputy Headships at Queen Margaret's School, York and Loughborough High School, the latter including a spell as Acting Head.

Stuart is really looking forward to welcoming you all as the first ever students on our new Orchestral Summer Courses and can't wait to see and hear what we are able to produce musically by the end of each course.