I AM saddened to learn the Minister is to lose its school (The Press, June 4).

In the grey mists of time, I was a choirboy at the Minster Song School.

At that time, most of the pupils served as choristers. I am concerned that the Minister’s choir will now come from a fee paying public school as this will diminish the opportunity for children of all backgrounds to experience the joy of singing in a truly remarkable building.

My fellow choristers were not drawn only from families who could pay; our education was paid for by the Minister in return for our signing six days a week.

The discipline of singing for hours every day meant that choristers knew the meaning of the words excellence and professionalism before we were 11 years old, and the knowledge gained contributed hugely to my later career as a film and television music composer.

The school had its weaknesses. By the time I left for secondary school, I was way behind in the sciences, having only learned that sodium burns a hole in your trousers when it leaps from a jug of water, but the music and the carpentry lessons with Minster craftsmen more than made up for that!

Christian Vassie,

Blake Court,

Wheldrake, York