The principal of one of England’s most reputable private schools, Epsom College, has been found dead along with her husband and their 7-year-old daughter, we learned on Monday.
The bodies of Emma Pattison, 45, her husband George, 39, and their daughter were discovered early Sunday morning on school grounds.
The police favor the track of an “isolated incident without involvement of a third party”, but did not give details on the circumstances of this case.
Emma Pattison had become in September the first woman to lead Epsom College, located in Surrey, south of London.
It is a popular establishment for the English elite, created in 1853, where students pay up to 42,000 pounds (47,000 euros) a year. It has more than 850 students, girls and boys.
Epsom College has won the top prize in the Independent Schools of the Year 2022 competition, with judges calling it a ‘beacon of excellence’.
“I want to assure you that we will carry out a thorough investigation. (…) We hope that we will be able to bring peace in these traumatic circumstances,” said Inspector Kimball Edey.
In a statement, the school said it is working with police as part of the investigation. “We must now focus on the well-being of pupils and staff. (…) This is heartbreaking information and we will need time together to process these shocking events.”