Indian-origin teenager found hanging in top UK grammar school
An Indian-origin teenager was found hanging in her school premises after her classmates refused to include her in a WhatsApp group, an inquest into her death was told. The teenager, a student of a top UK grammar school, was found unresponsive by her teachers in a wooded area in North London. A psychiatrist said that she may not have intended to die.
She may have felt excluded by her friends: Psychiatrist
Psychiatrist Emily Hallgarten told Barnet Coroner's Court that she may have felt excluded by her friends after not being included in a WhatsApp group. The inquest heard how the teenager, Elena Mondal's parents, Shyamal and Moushumi Mondal, feared that their daughter was being bullied at the girls' school, which was ranked the top performing state-funded school in the UK in 2016 and 2017.
She wanted to be a doctor: School officials
School officials told the inquest how Elena, who wanted to be a doctor, once fled a classroom in tears clutching a pair of scissors, before collapsing in a corridor and cutting her arms in a toilet. A well-being manager at the school said that Elena had been referred to the school counselor after missing meals and complaining of depression but had missed several appointments.
Elena may not have intended to die: Consultant psychiatrist
When asked if the school's "hothouse culture" could be putting pupils at risk of mental health issues, she said: "It is not unusual for teenage girls at different points to engage in experiments with food or self-harm." Consultant psychiatrist Cathy Wainhouse said Elena may not have intended to die, instead hoping that she would be found by friends before her "dramatic statement" went wrong.
