Coroner flags national gaps in safeguarding pupils at boarding schools
Georgia Scarff, 16, died after being struck by a lorry on the A14 near her home in Bury St Edmunds in April 2024, the night before she was due to return to boarding school and weeks before her GCSEs. An inquest heard that she had been anxious about her exams and future, and that her anxiety led her to act impulsively; the coroner has since warned that gaps in school safeguarding practices may leave other pupils at risk.
Georgia’s mother told the inquest that her daughter had experienced panic attacks, struggled with boarding and expressed worries about coping with future pressures and feeling close to her school friends. The school had offered support from its nurse and counsellor, and staff interpreted her move to five-night boarding as a sign she was coping. The coroner highlighted the absence of universal guidance for safeguarding when pupils move schools, missing information in Georgia’s records and staff who were not proficient in using the school’s child-protection software.
- An inquest heard Georgia was struggling with anxiety before her death.
- The coroner identified gaps in school safeguarding guidance and records.
- He warned of risks when pupils move between schools.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Coroner warns about lack of national safeguarding guidance after pupil, 16, who died when struck by lorry was ‘struggling’ at £50,000-a-year boarding school”.