A SCHOOL is in mourning after the shock death of a 26-year-old support teacher.

Sports-mad Joe Kelly died unexpectedly of a suspected heart condition earlier this week.

He worked at Hillside Primary School, Newsome, where his mother Margaret Rogers is also assistant head.

It is understood the keen Huddersfield Town fan suffered a massive heart attack.

His sudden death has shaken pupils and colleagues at the school.

He had worked alongside many of them for five years, from the days when it was known as Stile Common Junior School.

An inquest into his tragic death is due to open next week.

Today, headteacher Dawn Horton paid tribute to the inspirational teacher, from Shepley.

She said: "Joe Kelly was an outstanding support assistant who worked at Stile Common Juniors and more recently at Hillside Primary.

"His sudden and unexpected death is a great shock to us all in school.

"Joe was a wonderful young man whose passion for sport has enthused hundreds of children over the years, and his guidance of children both inside and out of the classroom has been both inspirational and uplifting.

"Joe loved working with the children and would not let an opportunity to work with them pass him by.

"Ofsted inspectors and other bodies have always commented on his outstanding ability to communicate with children.