Music teacher who appeared in hit Channel 4 show charged with making indecent images of children
7 February 2025, 16:34
An award-winning music conductor and teacher who previously appeared in a hit show on Channel 4 has been accused of making indecent images of children and sexual assault.
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Gareth Ritter, 43, is a former assistant head and music teacher at Willows High in Cardiff.
He was also the conductor for the Ebbw Valley Brass Band and the Lydbrook Band, winning Welsh Conductor of the Year four times.
Ritter is set to face trial at Cardiff Crown Court in November after being hit with charges of sexual assault, two counts of making an indecent image of a child, and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child.
He previously appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court in November 2024.
Ritter has since quit his bands and had his teaching license suspended after the charges emerged.
According to the Education Workforce Council, an interim suspension order on Gareth John Ritter's registration was made on December 12, 2024. It says he is "ineligible for registration – subject to interim suspension order".
Ritter appeared in Channel 4’s hit series Educating Cardiff, a docuseries following teachers and students at Willows High School. He was praised for using innovative technology in the classroom, winning a Pearson Award in 2013.
Earlier this week, the Ebbw Valley Brass band issued a short statement in which they said the musical director had resigned "due to personal reasons", giving no further details.
The band is now advertising for a new musical director,requesting that candidates get in touch 'in complete confidence”.
Ritter declined to comment on his criminal charges and declined to confirm his resignation from the band, according to WalesOnline.
