Father of autistic 16-year-old girl who took her own life at £44,000-a-year Wycombe Abbey School opens her GCSE results to discover she had got 10 marks of grade 7 and above
- Jonathan Scott-Lee, 42, said he wished he could hold his daughter Caitlyn again
- The 16-year-old was found dead at her prestigious boarding school in April
The father of an autistic 16-year-old who took her own life at a £44,000-a-year boarding school has opened her GCSE results to discover she had achieved high marks.
Jonathan Scott-Lee, 42, said he wished he could hold his 16-year-old daughter Caitlyn again, who was found dead at Wycombe Abbey School on April 21, the day before she was due to have her first-ever detention.
This week he found out that his daughter had achieved 10 GCSEs of grade 7 and above, including top marks of 9 in Chinese, mathematics and drama.
Mr Scott-Lee said Caitlyn planned on studying A-levels and was considering a career in the theatre or psychology.
The banker told the Telegraph: ‘Reading Caitlyn’s posthumous grades, I felt simultaneously impressed and flat.’
Caitlyn Scott-Lee (pictured), 16, was found dead in at Wycombe Abbey School on April 21
Jonathan Scott-Lee (pictured), 42, said he wished he could hold his 16-year-old daughter Caitlyn again, who was found dead the day before she was due to have her first-ever detention
He added that he was ‘grateful’ that Wycombe Abbey revealed the posthumous awards and said: ‘For now, I would much rather be holding Caitlyn than a piece of paper with grades.
READ MORE: Girl, 16, who was found dead at £44,000-a-year boarding school ‘hanged herself in a changing room’, inquest hears
‘Sadly, she isn’t here to celebrate with us or her friends. She, herself, wanted to achieve the very best and did so.’
He said he was very proud of his daughter but the grades wouldn’t have impacted his love for her either way as he revealed Caitlyn was the one working hard to achieve top marks.
A tribute to Caitlyn described her as ‘gifted with autism’ and ‘had a particular passion for the theatre, arts, music and the environment’.
Her parents said: ‘The school community, friends and family are grieving her loss but we are comforted in her personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
‘Caitlyn enjoyed nature, the environment, sustainability and birds. She would have appreciated potted plants over cut flowers, and support for The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.’
Her father also revealed that his daughter made a heartbreaking final diary entry in which she thanked her friends for their love, wished them luck and said goodbye.
In the final note, seen by The Sunday Times, Caitlyn described how she had run away from a school trip to Eton College as a ‘cry out for help’.
This week her father found out that his daughter had achieved 10 GCSEs of grade 7 and above, including top marks of 9 in Chinese, mathematics and drama
A tribute to Caitlyn described her as ‘gifted with autism’ and ‘had a particular passion for the theatre, arts, music and the environment’
Written the night before her death, it reportedly read: ‘I hope this is my last diary entry. I want to kill myself tomorrow.’
Caitlyn’s last journal entry, written in neat cursive, highlights how the detention had been playing on her mind over the Easter break.
‘Running away was the best cry out for help I could give and you [Wycombe] responded with ‘we’d normally punish you but you’re already getting punished’.’
She took her own life the next day, just hours before she had been due to receive a two-hour punishment known as a ‘headmistress’s detention’ after vodka and a tattoo kit were found in her music locker before the Easter holidays.
In an email to parents in Caitlyn’s year, known as Upper V, headmistress Jo Duncan said: ‘They are a close year group and, as you will understand, they are very shocked and upset.
Her father also revealed that his daughter made a heartbreaking final diary entry in which she thanked her friends for their love, wished them luck and said goodbye
Caitlyn’s last journal entry, written in neat cursive, highlights how the detention had been playing on her mind over the Easter break
‘It is an extremely difficult time for everyone and we will do our utmost to provide the additional pastoral care the girls will need.’
Ms Duncan ended her letter saying: ‘I am sure that you will join me and everyone at Wycombe Abbey in sending our deepest sympathies to Caitlyn’s parents, siblings and wider family who are in our thoughts and prayers at this sad time.’
Wycombe Abbey: More than a century of history
Wycombe Abbey is one of the oldest independent girls schools in the country.
Founded in 1896 by Dame Francis Dove, the school is situated on 69 hectares of land centred around the Grade II-listed Abbey.
The school charges £44,000 a year for pupils and currently houses over 600 girls.
Notable former pupils include Smack the Pony TV star Sally Phillips, suffragette Elsie Bowerman, journalist India Knight, Lady Nicholas Windsor and the BBC’s Director of Content Charlotte Moore.
At Beaconsfield Coroner’s Court on April 26, coroner’s officer Annabelle West said the provisional cause of death given at a post-mortem was hanging, Bucks Free Press reported.
Before her death, Caitlyn had reportedly reached out for help but Oxford NHS Trust CAMHS assessed her as ‘low risk’ for suicide and gave her an appointment in May, but she died in April.
The inquest into her death has been pushed back from September to early next year due to new information coming to light.
Mr Scott-Lee revealed Caitlyn’s family continued to ‘receive words of support from friends, family and the broader public’ who want to offer support after reading about Caitlyn.
This week the government unveiled a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund, which Mr Scott-Lee deemed timely and said he was grateful to see that the government had defined ‘primary groups of concern’ to include ‘children and young people’ as well as ‘autistic people’.
Mr Scott-Lee has already met with Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, and Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, and further talks with ministers are planned as he campaigns for more support for suicide prevention and for autistic people.
He said: ‘In the past few months, I have been grateful for the condolences and support from the Government and parliamentarians, and am pleased that this additional grant fund, will help further our understanding of suicide prevention.
‘Much of this work was already in progress but I add support as a father who, four months ago, would not have given this topic attention.’
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