Boarding school could not prevent student's death

The Wycombe Abbey pupil was found in a secluded part of the school after she died

A coroner has concluded there was "no evidence" that anything would have helped a school prevent a student from taking her own life.

Caitlyn Scott-Lee, 16, was found dead at Wycombe Abbey school in Buckinghamshire on 21 April last year, the day before she was due to have her first detention.

The inquest at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court heard Caitlyn received the detention after alcohol was found in her possession on 19 March.

Senior coroner Crispin Butler concluded on Wednesday that there was "no evidence" that anything would have assisted the school "in identifying what was to tragically happen on the evening of 21 April".

The inquest heard Caitlyn visited the school nurse on the day she died and was given hayfever medication.

"Right up until this late point no-one other than Caitlyn could have or should have known what was going to happen," Mr Butler said.

The coroner recorded suicide as Caitlyn's cause of death.

Caitlyn Scott-Lee's father, Jonathan Scott-Lee, described her as a "Daddy's girl"

However, her father Jonathan Lee said he wondered whether his daughter's "narrative" was "fully heard" by the inquest.

He said: "Today, the learned coroner, Crispin Butler, stated, 'the big hole in this inquest is Caitlyn's diary. It is a very, very unusual inquest'.

"The coroner is right. Caitlyn left a uniquely comprehensive five-year account of her life. However, I wonder whether her narrative was fully heard. I still wonder whether autism was appropriately considered in the context of Caitlyn's actions."

Mr Lee said people with autism were seven times more likely to die by suicide than the neurotypical population.

He added: "To honour Caitlyn and support the broader autistic community, it is right to reflect on whether there has been appropriate diligence in this investigation."

A month before she died, Caitlyn went missing before she was due to play at a concert

The inquest heard that on 21 March, two days after the alcohol was found, Caitlyn was due to play at a concert at Eton College.

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".

At a previous inquest hearing, Wycombe Abbey head teacher Jo Duncan was asked if staff made a connection between the Eton College incident, and alcohol being found in Caitlyn's possession.

She said: "From my perspective we saw them as different incidents."

She added 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.

On 21 April, staff at Wycombe Abbey began to search for Caitlyn after she failed to return in time for curfew at her accommodation.

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

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