John Barnard, 66, a former German and French teacher at the £18,000-a-year Godolphin and Latymer school in Hammersmith, was arrested after officers raided his house in Harrow.

He pleaded guilty at Harrow Crown Court to three counts of making indecent images of children and one charge of possessing indecent photographs, which relate to 29 pictures found in his bedroom. Most of the images depicted boys aged between 14 and 16.

Barnard, who was a fellow of the Royal College of Organists and associate of the Royal School of Church Music, was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and must attend 60 days’ counselling.

Judge Jeremy Barklem told him: “It must be a humiliating experience for a man of your background to find himself before the courts.  You are a cultured, educated, highly intelligent man, respected and loved by many... but  also tortured by a publicly-repressed sexuality and an interest in images  of young men that’s never been expressed physically.”

Prosecutor Kate Blumgart told the court Barnard answered his door to police at 6.30am in May last year and immediately admitted there were images on his computer. Further printed images were found, which he admitted printing from his computer.

The court was told Cambridge University-educated Barnard has directed music for BBC Radio 2’s Sunday Half Hour. He was deputy head for 15 years at £16,000-a-year John Lyon boys’ school, Harrow, and taught at £29,000-a-year Aldenham school, Elstree.

Maria Dineen, defending, said Barnard was “thoroughly ashamed” and had been aware he was doing wrong, “but was too embarrassed and fearful of the consequences to seek help”.

Barnard was also made subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Barnard is currently suspended as head of choir at John Keble Church, Edgware.