Cathedral School is supposed to be the fifth oldest independent school in the country. It cannot be proved, however, that the School has existed continually since the date of its supposed foundation in the tenth century, and there was certainly a hiatus during the 1880s, after which it was refounded. The current Head Master is Alastair Tighe with Jody Wells as Head of the Junior School, and Alexander Laing as Director of Music. Tighe has been Head Master since September 2018 and was previously Deputy Head (Academic) at Bedford School where he was for 5 years. The Royal Family holds links with the school, many of the buildings being opened by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother on 6 July 1979. Queen Elizabeth II visited the school during her Silver Jubilee tour in 1977. The Countess of Wessex visited Wells on 18 October 2007 and has done so several times subsequently, including most recently in September 2019 to help mark the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Girl Choristers and the establishment of Cedars Hall. In 1969 it was among the first independent schools in the country to become coeducational when the junior school admitted girls. The following year, girls were admitted to the Senior School and it became fully coeducational. In 2005, the School was one of fifty independent schools to be found guilty of operating a price-fixing cartel, discovered by The Times, under which schools had made fee increases or decreases concurrently, thus minimising competition. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. The discovery by The Times was made shortly after new Office of Fair Trading directives prohibiting such sharing of information. Music Distinguished musicians visit the School to give masterclasses. The Music School has several main practice areas including the historic Vicars' Close, and caters for specialist, special provision and general musicians. The whole School comprises pre-prep, Junior School, and Senior School which includes a Sixth Form. The Music School was formerly the house of the Archdeacon of Wells. It was rebuilt by Archdeacon Andrew Holes between 1450 and 1470, possibly retaining some 13th-century work and further restoration was undertaken by Edmund Buckle in 1886. It is a Grade II* listed