Father prays before inquest on girl who took her own life

THE father of a private school pupil who took her own life has said he is praying for forgiveness for all those involved on the eve of an inquest into her death.

Jonathan Scott-lee’s 16-year-old daughter Caitlyn was found in the grounds of Wycombe Abbey, a £44,000-a-year boarding school in Buckinghamshire, a year ago.

Caitlyn, who was suffering from anxiety and depression and had autism, had been due to have a two-hour “headmistress’s detention”, her first punishment.

A three-day inquest into her death will begin at Beaconsfield Coroner’s Court today.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Scottlee said: “As Caitlyn’s inquest begins, my thoughts remain with Caitlyn, the coroner, and the witnesses who will provide evidence over the next three days.

“This Sunday, I have been particularly praying for grace, forgiveness, and wisdom for all involved.”

Caitlyn had sought medical help before her death but the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre at the

Oxford NHS Trust assessed her to be at “low risk” of suicide and offered an appointment in May. She died in April.

Mr Scott-lee, a banking technology executive at HSBC, has previously said that she had become “hyper-fixated” on the detention, imposed after vodka and a tattoo kit were found in her music locker just before the Easter holidays.

Writing in The Sunday Times earlier this month, Mr Scott-lee said it “never occurred” to him that Caitlyn was at risk of committing suicide at boarding school.

He said it had “become painfully clear that Caitlyn was truly literal”, and she had confided in a friend, who alerted the school: “I would rather kill myself than go to detention!”

Mr Scott-lee has said he told Wycombe Abbey that he does not blame the school for his daughter’s death, but that “it would be prudent to explore improvements”.

Responding to Caitlyn’s death, Wycombe Abbey said the school was “deeply shocked” at the loss of “a bright and talented young woman with enormous promise who will never be forgotten here”.

The school offers access to in-house counsellors, a wellbeing centre and learning support staff to aid pupils.