TRIBUTES have been paid to a 22-year-old “all-round sportsman” and “remarkable young man”.

Former Ipswich School pupil Ben St Joseph suffered fatal injuries after he fell from Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday.

Mr St Joseph, who lived in Tollesbury near Maldon, Essex, was a student at the school between 2003 and 2008 and was described as “a well-liked member of the Ipswich School community, contributing much to school life”.

Alasdair Ross, head of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Overseas Expedition at Ipswich School, said: “Ben had just been accepted into the Army with a place at Sandhurst, to become a doctor - combining two of the things he liked the most: military and medicine.

“Ben was probably the finest pupil I have met at the school and I had the fortune to take him trekking in Northern India and on climbing trips to Scotland and Northern Spain.

“He had so much more to offer and will be missed by many.”

While in the sixth form, Mr St Joseph was head of Rigaud House and played for the school’s rugby and football first teams.

He was a Senior NCO Instructor in the school’s Combined Cadet Force, and was selected to attend a leadership course at Frimley Park, where his performance was described as “first-class all round”.

Mr St Joseph’s passion for adventures also led him to participate in a 2006 World Challenge Expedition to India where his leadership and interpersonal skills came to the fore.

Nicole Brown, who was his housemistress at Ipswich School, said: “I am deeply saddened by the tragic news of Ben’s death and found it quite difficult to pay tribute enough to this remarkable young man, who surely had such a bright future ahead of him.

“He was quite literally one of the finest pupils to have passed through Ipswich School in recent years.

“As head of Rigaud House he contributed enormously to all areas of school life, achieving excellent grades academically, before going on to read medicine at Bristol University.

“He was a very modest, caring young man, who also showed great strength, initiative and leadership, and was a great friend to so many. He will be greatly missed.”

It is understood Mr St Joseph had been climbing Ben Nevis on his own and was about 2,800ft up the 4,409ft mountain when he fell about 100 metres into the gully below.

n Pay your tributes to Ben St Joseph via Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email starletters@archant.co.uk