A GEOGRAPHY teacher who has worked in Dunfermline for 26 years is packing up and moving to Malawi to teach at an international school.

David Low, 52, took up post at Queen Anne High School in May 1997 and has become a respected figure among students and colleagues.

In his time he has led numerous Duke of Edinburgh expeditions across the globe, including trips to Canada, Cambodia, Thailand and Jordan.

He will now be joining St Andrew's International School in Blantyre, set up initially with funds from the Church of Scotland.

The headteacher there is from Kinross and is a friend of the family.

David, who is from Upper Largo but recently moved to the Linen Quarter, will be travelling with his wife Kirsten Weir, and 10-week-old son, Fletcher Loweir.

There he will teach a class of 15 up to A Level Geography and will have the opportunity to run trips throughout Malawi.

Fiona Cowieson, a former colleague, paid tribute to the teacher, who she says will be a "great loss" to Dunfermline.

She said: "Although I’ve been retired for six-and-a-half years now, I spent many happy years working with David at Queen Anne High School and was privileged to work closely with him on a number of amazing school trips ranging from caving in the Yorkshire Dales, to doing the Inca trail in Peru, kayaking in Croatia to climbing mount Kinabalu in Borneo.

"Although David’s trips were many and varied they all had the same things in common.

"The children who participated took a really active part in preparing for their adventures, which weren’t about relaxing on some exotic beach but more about learning how other people live.

"There is nothing like travelling and experiencing other cultures and lifestyles for making you think and broadening your outlook."

The pair visited a school in Cambodia where they taught children to sing "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", while Fiona also recalled the spontaneous football games which arose with youngsters while on visits.

Fiona and David also ran a link between Queen Anne High School and John Pickering Senior Comprehensive School in Gambia for 10 years.

She added: "The homestay experiences were profound in letting our students understand their privilege in terms of material things but also what we, in our nuclear society, are perhaps missing in terms of extended family support systems."

"I know from continued contact with many of the students who joined us on these trips that they were hugely valued had a deep and lasting effect on their lives.

"David has had a massively positive effect on the students who have been lucky enough to be taught by him or to have participated in one of his fabulous trips.

"He will be a great loss to the school but will doubtless have a great contribution to make to the school in Malawi that is to welcome him and his wife later this year."