Tributes have been paid after the former headmaster of a prestigious Colchester school died.

Stewart Francis, of West Mersea, and a former headteacher at Colchester Royal Grammar School, died, aged 86, on May 19.

Wife Valerie, 84, paid tribute to him following his death.

Born on February 25, 1938, Stewart was an “intelligent” individual who studied for a Classics degree at Cambridge University.

Valerie, whose parents emigrated to South Africa after the war, met Stewart in their early 20s, when he was on a trip there.

Valerie’s great aunt was friends with his mother as both lived in Frinton, and Stewart and Valerie ended up meeting.

What started out as “good friends” soon blossomed into romance when Valerie moved back to the UK in 1962.

Gazette: Missed - Stewart FrancisMissed - Stewart Francis (Image: Valerie Francis)

The pair bonded over a shared love of sport.

Valerie said: “He was very interesting with a good brain and very sporting.

“He was once Buck Squash champion, played a lot of cricket, and his batting was better than his bowling.

Gazette: Family - Stewart, Valerie,and their children Richard and KateFamily - Stewart, Valerie,and their children Richard and Kate (Image: Valerie Francis)

 

Gazette: Interesting - mayor Lilla Sandford pays a visit to the Grammar School in November 1996 and is pictured with husband Westley, headmaster Stewart Francis and pupil James ClementsInteresting - mayor Lilla Sandford pays a visit to the Grammar School in November 1996 and is pictured with husband Westley, headmaster Stewart Francis and pupil James Clements (Image: Valerie Francis)

Stewart had been the headmaster of Colchester Royal Grammar School between 1985 to 2000.

Valerie said it was a that role suited to him.

She said: “He was already a headmaster when he applied for the grammar school, at a school just outside Danbury.

“He knew Frinton. Even though that was not Colchester, he knew this area and that appealed to him.

Gazette: High standards - headmaster Stewart Francis in April 1992High standards - headmaster Stewart Francis in April 1992 (Image: Valerie Francis)

“He was a very intelligent person, it appealed to him,

“His degree was Classics, which is an unusual degree to have, where my degree was history and geography which a lot of people do.

“He had been to Cambridge University and had done well there.

“It appealed to him to work at a school which would have intelligent students.”

A funeral service will be held on June 20 at 11am at Wimpole Road Chapel, Colchester.

A celebration of Stewart’s life will be held afterwar5ds.

The family is accepting donations for the National Trust Plant a Tree Appeal as Stewart loved trees.