STAFF and pupils at Okehampton College are struggling to come to terms with the loss of a teacher who fell to his death from Tavistock viaduct.

Pupils at the secondary school were told the tragic news of the death of Ed Davis at special assembly last week, after principal Derrick Brett confirmed the news in a Facebook post to parents.

Mr Davis, who was 51, fell from from the viaduct onto Bannawell Street, Tavistock on the morning of Friday, April 27. Police and ambulance crews attended, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with his death.

The drama and special needs teacher lived in Tavistock with his family and had taught at Okehampton College on and off since 2005.

Mr Brett told parents that Mr Davis had died ‘after a long valiant battle with mental illness’. ‘Ed was a valued colleague, an outstanding individual and a good friend to us all. He will be greatly missed,’ he told them.

Speaking to the Times, Mr Brett said: ‘Ed first joined us as a teaching assistant in 2005 and in between then and now he has worked in the college in various roles in the Special Educational Needs (SEN) department and other areas of the curriculum as required.

‘He was a trained drama teacher but he also worked with us in the English faculty and he was doing some SEN teaching and drama. He wasn’t here continuously but because he had been here so long, he had taught most of the year groups.

‘He was very much loved, always supportive of everybody, always there with a ready laugh – you could try a joke out on Ed and see if it worked.

‘He was well-loved by the kids, he had a wicked sense of humour and they really enjoyed being with him. Even the kids who couldn’t make a connection with other staff were able to make a connection with Ed.

‘I’ve been watching a video of him taking part in a pantomime which made me laugh, a small production of Cinderella with some of the more vulnerable students in 2008. It is just such a shame.’

Counselling services have been made available to pupils, through the Okehampton charity Tor Support Services.

‘It has hit the school hard. We did assemblies with them on Monday and the children want to respond in different ways,’ said Mr Brett. ‘Some have put flowers around the pond, some want to raise some money for a local charity and some would like to have a bench to commemorate him and have a thinking place. We will have some sort of celebration in due course. We don’t want to do anything too soon, we want to do something in a timely fashion in the new school year.

He added: ‘He was such a fun person and he will not have realised how much he will be missed and just how much everybody thought of him here.’