Family traumatised by death of Bath schoolboy on exchange trip

Max McMullen died in Spain on an exchange trip

The death of a 15-year-old schoolboy has left his family with a "hole in the heart", an inquest was told.

Max McMullen died after falling from the seventh-floor window of his host family's apartment on an exchange trip in Córdoba, Spain, on 19 October 2019.

In a statement, his mother Karen McMullen said Max's death had "traumatised" the family.

The inquest was told the Bath student may have been trying to fix a window shutter before he died.

Ms McMullen was woken at 03:00 BST the next day by police to be informed of her son's death.

The inquest, at Avon Coroner's Court, was told Max and his friends from Beechen Cliff School near Bath had met at a local park in the evening before his death.

The court was told he left the group at around 22:00 local time (21:00 BST) and was found on the ground outside his apartment around an hour later.

After his death, it was revealed he had spoken to friends on social media beforehand, saying he planned to go back to the park.

In anonymous statements read to court, Max's friends said there had been alcohol at the gathering but no-one was drunk.

'Tragic accident'

They added that although Max had suffered from low moods in the past, he was enjoying the trip - despite not getting on with his exchange partner.

Max's parents sent a statement to the inquest saying they had flown out and visited the apartment in Córdoba where Max had stayed.

They said the host family told them Max had maybe been "trying to fix the shutter" in his room, and police in Spain had said what happened was a "tragic accident" with no signs of violence.

The inquest was told the mother of Max's exchange partner told police she had heard the blinds raised in Max's room, and the security shutter "shaken vigorously", before going in and finding the bedroom empty.

The shutter was found close to Max's body outside the apartment, the inquest was told.

Kate Marshall, who was the lead Beechen Cliff teacher on the trip but who no longer works at the school, told the inquest there had never been a serious problem with accommodation before.

"The head teacher (in Spain) has oversight and vouches for the families. They accept the children on to the exchange. She knows and selects the families," she said.

Ms Marshall said she only learned during the inquest the overseas accommodation was not inspected, but added: "We never visit the (English) host families but our school knows them and we do DBS checks."

She added: "The trip was oversubscribed in Spain so they chose on academic results and behaviour and the families they thought would be best."

The coroner, Maria Voisin, asked Alun Williams, CEO of Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, a multi-academy trust of which Beechen Cliff School is part, what measures have been put in place to ensure such a death does not happen again.

He said: "We must seek written confirmation that families are suitable to host our children.

"I also put in a policy around ensuring we get risk assessments for other activities that might take place while children are abroad."

The inquest continues.

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