On completing his service with the Royal Marines, he trained for the priesthood in the Church of England at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and became chaplain of Tonbridge School. He was married on 17 August 1985 to Sarah Payler. He later became a Roman Catholic and as a layman became a housemaster at St Edward's School, Oxford, prior to his appointment as Head Master of the Oratory School, Reading, where he was in office from 2000 to 2015.He stepped down from his post at the age of 58, after walking the Camino de Santiago from the Pyrenees to the Atlantic.