Why do some deaths make the news & others don't?

You want to look up Galtung and Ruge’s criteria for newsworthiness. It’s not an exact science but a good guide for what gets covered.

It basically boils down to how well known they are on a local or national scale and then how dramatic their death was.
then if they are:
Young
White
Middle class
Attractive
Much more likely to be reported if it was due to crime or mishap.

Brutal deaths whether by someone else's hand or accident tend to make headline news rather than a straight forward death

I’m guess if she was still working in a full-time, high stress, senior job then she can’t have been that old. Perhaps still only in her 50s? That’s very young to die these days, especially for a middle class woman. Life expectancy is well into the 80s for this demographic.

I also somehow expect strong women to live to very old age - I genuinely thought Dolly Parton died ‘young’ at 80. She’s the sort of person I would expect to get to 98! Anna Wintour is 76, Theresa May and Christine Lagarde are both 70, it would be absolutely wild if any of these women were to suddenly die.

A prominent headteacher is not far behind these women in terms of public interest, especially at a national level in a (relatively) small country. If it made global news, I’d be surprised. But the Daily Mail and The Sun report on everything.

I don't understand why the school closed due to the head teacher being ill and then staying closed due to their death.

People die suddenly more often than you’d think, so i agree that it seems puzzling that this person is more noteworthy than the many other equally important people who sadly lose their lives too young.

My guess is that a Pp has a point about the white, attractive, MC woman in a good job. That combined with the choice to close an SEN school for such a long time which has the potential to cause some discussion, plus it’s a fairly quiet one the news front otherwise.

I find that strange, too. If it's not to do with these particular pupils needing a long adjustment process, it sounds like a bit of a personality cult. Rachael Booth does seem to have been lovely, and the CEO of the Trust, Warren Carratt, also comes across as a live wire. He wrote the public release that's been quoted by national & local media.

Incidentally, Rachael looks quite a lot like Warren's twin sister!

It's clear that Rachael was indeed popular. Condolences to everyone who knew her.