Epsom College tragedy

[Bambala]

I was horrified to read the story about the headteacher and family dying this morning, this poor family and I can't stop thinking about how the children at school must feel learning about this tragedy. I am sure the staff there are being brilliant at supporting them. I remember hearing that my old headteacher had died after I left school and even then being really shocked and upset.

Police have cordoned off the rifle range - which would indicate that is where the bodies were found. It seems like it is a murder suicide.

thank goodness but I have always felt it is strange that at boarding school people who are married to teachers/housemasters/heads etc become so involved in the school life.

They don't @Bambala unless they are also staff.

yes, they have to live on the school premises- it goes with the job, but many spouse have their own jobs outside of school.

You only have your own experience I assume and it's not always that way.

Police cordoned off the rifle range and aren’t looking for a third party. You can deduce from that what you will.

I said highly unlikely, not impossible. But you know best.

It’s normal for spouses to live with each other in the Head’s house at boarding schools. Where do you think they should live? They should be DBS checked. Lots of boarding schools have staff houses with staff spouses in them. If both are qualified to work at the school, they can. What they should not do is have any role at the school that is not accountable or honorary. So they should have no contact with pupils unless they have a job that’s bona fide and accountable through professional channels.

I don't know best, but I wouldn't decide or question what anyone would be doing during grief. It wouldn't' come into my mind to do that. You clearly think it's ok to do so, we are all different.

@TizerorFizz ah ok. Things must have changed since I was a boarder, my housemisstress was only there because she was married to the master and she was terrible. I can’t really compare anyway as it wasn’t the pupils at the school who were threatened anyway and if the press reports are right, it wouldn’t have mattered where this poor family lived, the tragedy would have happened whatever job the parents had and wherever they lived. I suspect the access to guns doesn’t mean the crime wouldn’t have happened anyway.

I'd hoped this would be a thread about supporting those peripherally involved in a tragic situation, not speculation about what we thought had happened.

I'm disappointed.

The woman sounds like an amazing head, and I've been so impressed by her being centred in the stories, instead of him.

Exactly!

This is how it was at my school. Once we went to a military live firing range and were able to practice with live rounds far larger than those used in the indoor range (can't remember if we took our own cadet rifles or were provided some there, I assume the latter) and the difference was quite startling.

The press confirmed the bodies were found in their home.

In your first paragraph you are criticising those who are speculating but in your last paragraph you seem to have made an assumption about what has happened and posted about it. How is that any better?

I think it's natural for people to speculate as to what happened with a big news story such as this one.

I won't take anything from it, until it is reported honestly.

In the meantime, this has also been reported today.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-64540343

Women do also attempt or kill their children.

From the aerial photos on some news sites, it looks like the rifle range is right next door to the Head's house. So it isn't clear how much significance to place on the range being cordoned off - it may simply be part of the police perimeter around the house itself rather than a specific focus of attention.

Statistically, mothers and father kill their children in an almost equal percentage, with fathers slightly more.

What happened here, we don't know for sure. It's not fair yet to cast aspersions on anyone.

Of course, but posting these speculations on a website that’s in the public domain is beyond crass.

However, in matters of murder suicide concerning a family. this is overwhelmingly a male crime. Let's not sugar coat that.

Women do also attempt or kill their children.

Not in anything like the same numbers though. Murder is a very gendered crime - 94% of those who commit murder are men.

It really is okay to have a thread talking about yet another (probable) murder of a woman and child by the husband/father. We don't have to get into the whataboutism every single time a woman is killed.

Does it?

It might be to establish if there had been a break in and a weapon and ammunition missing.

Assuming The Telegraph is correct about shots having been heard, the police may have already found (or are looking for) a weapon, and then once found they need to know where it came from.

I agree with this. I'm happy to engage on discussion built on known facts, (fine call it speculation if you want), but when it's largely baseless and probably come from the Fail, there's likely benefit.

*little benefit

When I moved from London to Sussex, I was quite surprised by how many people from very ordinary backgrounds shoot. I know loads of people with guns.

It took a bit of adjusting to. The first time I was out for a walk with the dog and saw 2 men emerging from the woods with shotguns I nearly shat myself.

It really should be left to find out the truth first. Otherwise it just promotes hysteria etc.

Just because something is probable doesn't mean we should speculate over it.