Nóra Quoirin: Teacher tells inquest she would not have walked off

Nóra Quoirin and her family were staying at the Sora House eco-resort in Dusun

A British girl who was found dead in a Malaysian jungle "wouldn't have the confidence to walk off on her own", her head teacher has told an inquest.

Nóra Quoirin also had "balance issues" and it would be "unimaginable" for her to climb fences, Michael Reeves said.

Nóra and her family were staying in an eco-resort near Seremban, about 40 miles from Kuala Lumpur, when she was reported missing on 4 August 2019.

The 15-year-old's body was found two miles from the resort nine days later.

Nóra, from Balham in south-west London, was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder that affects brain development.

She attended Garratt Park School in Wandsworth, which teaches special needs children.

Head teacher Mr Reeves told the inquest in Seremban that she had had difficulties with "holding balance and posture" and had "weak core muscles".

Search-and-rescue teams were deployed in an effort to locate Nóra

Mr Reeves said he saw her daily, "at lunchtimes and in the playground", and had taught her on a number of occasions when covering for an absent teacher.

The 59-year-old told the inquest that he felt if Nóra had been alone in the dark she would have stopped to "shout for her parents" and "stay still wherever she was".

Nóra's mother Meabh Quoirin is originally from Belfast, where the teenager's funeral mass was held in September 2019

He added: "She would have found it [walking over rough terrain] exceptionally difficult even over a short distance.

"The idea of Nóra climbing over fencing is unimaginable.

"She might have climbed over something a foot or so high, but no more than that."

Nóra's social skills "were not ready for the world" and she was "easily distracted by noise", according to her head teacher

Mr Reeves described Nóra as having various physical issues and said she found it difficult to take part in PE lessons.

"Physically she was one of the most vulnerable pupils in the school, because of her balance issues," Mr Reeves said.

"Nóra's gait was quite fragile. She really didn't have the confidence to walk off by herself."

The inquest continues.