Bradford Cathedral’s music department has been undergoing something of a youth revolution.

Jonathan Eyre, 31, has been appointed assistant director of music to Alex Woodrow, at 24 the youngest director of music in the country.

And 15-year-old Bradford Grammar School pupil Henry Websdale has become the youngest cathedral organ scholar in the country to have been awarded a Diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music.

Henry has also been awarded the Associateship of the Royal College of Organists, winning the prestigious Limpus, Shinn and Durrant Prize for achieving the highest mark nationwide in the practical exam, as well as the Lord St Audries Prize for the highest overall mark for a candidate under 19.

He had to play three contrasting pieces, undergo a succession of keyboard tests and sit six hours of written papers as well as an aural examination.

Canon Sam Corley, himself the youngest Canon Precentor, in charge of music at cathedral services, said: “The failure rate for these exams is high, so for Henry not only to have passed, but also to have been awarded prizes, is an incredible achievement and testament to his thorough preparation and utter dedication. He is an inspiration to all young people today and we are all very proud of him.”

Henry, who seems to be taking all this in his stride, said: “I just love playing the organ.

“I am now closer to achieving my ambition of becoming an organ scholar at one of the Oxbridge colleges, due in no small part to Mr Woodrow and Mr Bowen.”

Paul Bowen, a Yorkshireman who developed a keen interest in music in his teens, was appointed the cathedral’s organist in October last year after serving for ten years as assistant organist.

Two BBC Radio 2 Sunday Half-Hour programmes recorded at the cathedral are due to be broadcast at 8.30pm on October 7 and December 9 respectively.