THE Bridport community is saying farewell to a man who has been pivotal to the development of young people in the area for more than 30 years.

Former headteacher, school governor, choir founder and local volunteer, David Powell, is leaving Dorset.

He and his wife Barbara are moving to the Cotswolds to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

The couple moved to west Dorset in 1990, when Mr Powell was appointed headteacher of Burton Bradstock Primary School.

He worked to forge strong links between the village community and the school and the schoolchildren regularly performed plays and concerts for the villagers.

In 2003, Mr Powell became the headteacher of St Mary's Middle School in Puddletown, which was a bigger challenge considering the size of the school. He then moved into Dorset Children's Services to advise school leaders on improvement and leadership development, before officially retiring in 2015.

In retirement Mr Powell devoted his time to volunteer work, involving himself in a number of organisations, mostly with a youth and musical focus. He served on the Minerva Trust board of trustees following the conversion of four local schools into the trust. He also served as chairman of the board at Bridport Primary School.

In recent years, Mr Powell has taken over the role of Rights Respecting Governor at the Sir John Colfox Academy, guiding the school to Unicef's prestigious gold Rights Respecting award.

Mr Powell has always been a lover of music and encouraged local children to get involved with playing instruments and singing. He developed the Minerva Learning Trust Choir and was on the Charter Fair committee, performing with various bands at this event.

One student who has known him since he was in primary school said: “David has been a massive part of my life within Bridport and it’s almost unbelievable that he’s moving.

"It’s been an absolute pleasure working with someone as incredible and inspirational as David, I’ve enjoyed every second of it. I hope to perform with him again as soon as it’s possible.”

Another said: "David is a true community figure, one of the kindest and most determined people I know. He truly put his heart and soul into Colfox and Bridport and will be greatly missed."

A spokesman for Sir Colfox Academy said: "David’s passion of music and young people has enriched the lives of many here in Bridport. We will miss him at Colfox and I am sure many will miss him in Bridport.

"I cannot imagine David stopping performing music or being interested in the young people, so our loss is the Cotswolds' gain. We have not heard the last of David as he is developing a blog based on his thirty years in the Bride Valley, linked to songs he has written and performed. The link will be on the village and town museum websites."