In a bid to encourage more young people to take up the organ, one private boarding school is offering children scholarships.

Salisbury Cathedral School is looking for one boy and one girl with a flair for the instrument, despite it traditionally only being played by men.

The institution is the first in the UK to offer funding to young people playing the organ, but you do not necessarily have to be able to play the instrument to secure the place.

They are looking for children in years five and six that are either already organ players, or are grade five and above in the piano.

The successful candidates will receive 20 per cent off their school fees if they secure the scholarships, alongside weekly lessons and regular performance opportunities, both in the school chapel and at surrounding churches.

Salisbury Cathedral is home to the Father Willis organ, named after the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era.

Described as one of the Cathedral’s “great treasures,” the lucky scholarship recipients will have a chance to play one of the “finest pipe organs in the country” on a regular basis.

“As a leading musical prep school, we have a duty to improve and increase our organ teaching to help ensure the future of this ‘King of Instruments’ and its central role in cultural and spiritual life,” said head master Clive Marriott.

“We are ideally placed to introduce scholarships for young organists and then help those pupils find Senior schools which will continue to provide advanced pipe organ practise and performance opportunities. We believe we will be the first UK prep school to provide pipe organ scholarship places.”