Young choirmaster arrives at Bognor church

Jamie, 26, assumed the role at St Wilfrid’s Church in the first year of its second century.

He said: “There is a perception that choirmasters are elderly or, at the other extreme, like the Vicar of Dibley with lots of wild gestures and silly dances.

“I have been coming to the church since last September and singing with the choir and, when the previous choirmaster left, I thought I could bring something fresh to the role. There are different ways of worship we can use. I want the children to be more involved in how they lead the worship at the family Eucharist and to become a more central part of the congregation.”

Jamie came to Bognor, where he lives in St Wilfrid’s parish, to teach at Nyewood Infant School within the parish having worked at another school after he achieved his music degree at the University of Chichester.”