HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a popular student who lost his life in a car accident on a busy main road. Thomas Rupert St George, of Lymington Bottom Road, Four Marks, died tragically after losing control of the black Renault Clio he was driving and colliding with some trees on the A31 at Chawton. The teenager was driving towards Alton when the accident happened at around 10-50 am last Friday. The 18 year old sustained serious head injuries and died as a result. Thomas' untimely death has devastated all those who knew him. Dozens of floral tributes have been left at the scene of the tragedy by family and friends. Photographs of the Alton College student and football shirts from Alton-based Manor Colts Football Club, of which he was a former member, have also been laid at the scene. Among the messages attached to the tributes were "You will never be forgotten" and "If only you could see how much you are missed". Another read: "Thank you for all that you gave me and everyone at Manor Colts. You will always be remembered and never forgotten". Another said: "You're a great guy and you'll be missed". Thomas was a talented student and footballer, playing for his college's first XI team. He was about to take his A levels in French, communication studies and business studies, for which he was predicted high grades. The former Ditcham Park pupil was then planning to go to university to take a degree in business management. College principal Jane Machell said: "We are extremely saddened and shocked to lose such a young man in the prime of his life. He was a really excellent student and a very keen sportsperson – a talented football player. "He was about to get a string of really high grades at A level in French, communication studies and business studies and go on and take a degree in business management at university. He had already achieved a high grade in AS level PE last year. "He was extremely popular, sociable and conscientious. Obviously our students are very shocked. We are doing everything we can to support them and have trained counsellors, a chaplain, youth workers and staff, who are able to offer guidance and support at such times, working with the students to help them manage their grief. "We are a very close-knit community at the college and we all feel it very strongly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom's family at this time. It is a terrible tragedy." Thomas played for Manor Colts FC's Under 17 football team during the 2004/05 season. Club secretary John Priddle said: "I didn't know him personally but on behalf of Manor Colts FC, I send our condolences to his family and friends." Staff at Ditcham Park School near Petersfield, where Thomas' mother is a teacher, have been rocked by his death. Thomas was the school games captain and was admired and respected by staff and students alike. Headteacher Kathryn Morton described him as an "ideal student". "It has really hit the school very hard. It has come as a real shock to us all," Mrs Morton said. "We are a very small, friendly school. There are just 200 students in the senior section of the school. Everybody knew him and virtually all the teachers had taught him. "He was an ideal student. He was excellent, sociable and popular and very bright. He left with all As and Bs in his GCSEs. He was the school games captain and very talented at sport. He was particularly good at football and good at athletics. He was an excellent student in all ways. "He was very good with the younger pupils, just at inspiring them and helping them. We are very proud of him. "Obviously we are really thinking of his family and particularly his mother, who is a long- standing teacher at the school, at this time." Police are investigating the accident and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. The road was closed for four hours while police investigated the scene of the crash. A spokesman for Hampshire police said: "We need people coming to tell us what they have seen and that is quite critical to the investigation." Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call acting sergeant Stuart Jones at Whitehill Roads Policing Unit on 0845 045 45 45 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, quoting Operation Soapstone. Thomas' funeral will be held on Monday at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Four Marks at 2 pm. The family have requested family flowers only, but donations towards Action for Me can be sent to AH Cheater Funeral Directors, 122 The Hundred, Romsey, SO51 8BY.