TOWNSPEOPLE, staff and students will tomorrow pay their respects to the well-loved principal of Okehampton College, who died suddenly last Tuesday, aged 51. Chris Powell?s coffin will be walked from Maddaford?s Funeral Directors through Okehampton town centre and around the college campus tomorrow (Friday), before being driven to a private service for family and close friends only at Exeter Crematorium. The cortege will leave Maddaford?s just before 2pm. Acting principal Daryl Chapman said the school will close at 1.30pm on Friday ? parents are being notified of the arrangements. He said: ?We are going to hold a celebration of Chris?s achievements at the college on Friday October 28 at 11am in the college sports hall, which will be open to all members of the community. ?And in the first two or three weeks of the next half-term, there will be an opportunity for the youngsters to come together to remember Chris at a college service.? Mr Powell collapsed following a meeting at Ivybridge Community College last Tuesday night (October 11) and was pronounced dead soon after. Tributes have poured in in memory of Mr Powell, who joined Okehampton College at the beginning of 2001 and oversaw a rapid resurgance in its fortunes. He was previosuly assistant principal at John Kitto College in Plymouth. Chairman of governors John Stevens said: ?It is often said of Churchill in the war that he was the right man at the right time. ?Chris was exactly the right man at the right time for this college. It was a huge privilege to work with a man of his stature. His loss will be very deeply felt by all of us for a long time to come. ?He leaves a huge legacy and all of us are committed to carrying on his work.? Daryl Chapman said there was l Continued on page 3
