Girl, 16, found dead at school before her detention

Wycombe Abbey schoolImage source, Google
Image caption,

The teenager was found in a secluded area of Wycombe Abbey school

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A father has paid tribute to his daughter who is believed to have taken her own life the day before she was due to have her first ever detention.

Caitlyn Scott-Lee, 16, was found dead at Wycombe Abbey school in Buckinghamshire on April 21 last year.

An inquest, at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court on Monday, heard Caitlyn received the detention after alcohol was found in her locker.

Her father, senior banker Jonathan Scott-Lee, told the inquest that Caitlyn was a "Daddy's girl".

He said: "I took care of her, dressed her, cuddled her, fed her, and soothed her.

"As she grew as a toddler, there would be bittersweet moments where she would stand by the window of our home and cry as I left for my daily commute.

"Little did she know I would return each evening."

Mr Scott-Lee said his daughter, like him, was autistic.

He told the inquest: "It is a myth that people with autism don't have much emotion."

The senior banker explained their feelings were "amplified" as they are "internal".

'Full life in 6,041 days'

He said: "Caitlyn was so much more than autism, Wycombe Abbey, and detention."

He told the inquest he had looked through a photo album after her death.

"I saw photos of Caitlyn obtaining her scuba diving licence at age 10 in the Philippines, playing tennis in Scotland, modelling in Singapore, camping in Wales, riding helicopters in New Zealand, skiing across Japan, honing rifle marksmanship in Birmingham, driving at age 13 at Mercedes Brooklands, and hiking the Great Wall of China.

"Even I was surprised at how full a life Caitlyn lived in 6,041 days."

The inquest heard that staff began to search for Caitlyn after she failed to return in time for curfew at her boarding school accommodation on April 21.

She was then found in a secluded area of the school.

The court was told alcohol was found in her possession on March 19 and two days later Caitlyn was due to play at a concert at Eton.

However, she went missing and was found more than two miles away at her mother's home in Windsor.

In a diary entry, found after her death, Caitlyn described this incident as her "best cry out for help".

Wycombe Abbey headmistress Jo Duncan was asked if staff made a connection between the Eton College incident, and alcohol being found in Caitlyn's possession.

"From my perspective we saw them as different incidents," she said.

She said staff believed Caitlyn had run away from the concert as she did not want her mother to see her perform.

Caitlyn had previously had issues with her parents watching her play music, and had emailed her mother asking her not to come to the concert, Ms Duncan said.

The inquest continues.

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