A FORMER headteacher of tragic teenager Emily Longley has described “a gentle and caring” girl who was planning for the future.

The 17-year-old, who was born in Britain but emigrated with her family to New Zealand, was found dead at a bungalow on Bournemouth’s Queenswood Avenue on Saturday morning.

Emily grew up in North Shore, a town forming part of Auckland, New Zealand.

She returned to the UK last year and lived with her grandparents in Southbourne, after her parents felt that she fell in with the wrong crowd.

Clarinda Franklin, principal of Hauraki School in North Shore, said: “Emily was a memorable person – lively but courteous, well behaved and a supportive class member. There was a gentleness about her and a very caring side.”

Emily had visited New Zealand over Easter and called into her old school.

“She spent time with some of her old teachers,” said Mrs Franklin.

“We talked - she was thinking about the future and spoke about her goals and aspirations. I was impressed by that.

“We at Hauraki are all desperately sorry!”

Emily, who was studying at Brockenhurst College in the New Forest, had been on a night out with friends the evening before she was found dead.

The cause of her death has not yet been established and Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team is awaiting the result of toxicology tests.

A 19-year-old and a 17-year-old, both from Bournemouth, have been arrested in connection with her death and released on police bail.