College head Trevor Jones today lies critically ill in hospital after his 100th sky-dive went terribly wrong.
The 50-year-old principal of West Oxfordshire College, Witney, suffered multiple injuries when his parachute jump ended in disaster at the weekend.
Friends and colleagues are shocked by the accident.
His condition was described as critical but stable by a spokesman for the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Mr Jones, married with two children, of Union Way, Witney, took over as college principal last year and is a self-confessed action man.
As a young man he raced motorbikes as a semi- professional and only gave up after breaking 14 bones.
He was also a captain in the Territorial Army and then took up sky-diving as a hobby because he said he was "getting a bit bored".
Staff and students at the college are shocked by the accident. Assistant principal David Mills, who has taken over as acting head, said: "We are all deeply distressed. I have also spoken to his family and they are very shocked.
"We are all praying for a quick return to health."
The accident happened on Sunday afternoon when Mr Jones landed heavily in a field opposite RAF Weston-on-the Green, near Bicester.
He suffered broken limbs and internal injuries.
Paramedics rushed to the scene but his condition was so serious the Thames Valley police helicopter was called to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.
The British Parachute Association will now be investigating the accident.
Mr Jones has a three-year-old daughter and a teenage son who is in his second year of A-levels at his father's college.
David Stew, chairman of the college board, said: "We are all shaken by the news. Trevor has a very dynamic personality."
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