College Head Found Dead With Husband And Daughter

The head of private school Epsom College has been found dead along with her husband and seven-year-old daughter on a property on school grounds. Emma Pattison, 45, her husband George, 39, and their daughter Lettie were found dead at 01:10 GMT on Sunday. Officers from Surrey Police said they were confident there was “no third-party involvement”.

Epsom College said the community would be “coming together” to “process the news, grieve and pay our respects”. Det Ch Insp Kimball Edey said: “On behalf of Surrey Police, my team, and I, I first want to express my sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Emma, Lettie and George, as well as to the students and staff of Epsom College, for their tragic loss.

“I want to give my assurance that we will conduct a thorough investigation into what took place… and hope to be able to bring some peace in these traumatic circumstances. I would ask that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.” Ms Pattison became Epsom’s first female head only five months ago after six years as headteacher of Croydon High School in south London.

Her husband George was a chartered accountant who was director of a management consultancy firm called Tanglewood 2016, according to Companies House. In December, Ms Pattison told a podcast run by students that her move had been “a really big change for my family”, adding:

“I’ve got a new job, my husband got a new job, which wasn’t meant to happen, but did, and my daughter has started a new school. Police officers remain at the scene and security guards in hi-vis clothing have been spotted at school entrances.

Pupils in uniform could be seen walking just inside the main gate of the school, where the flag is flying at half-mast.The grounds, near Epsom Downs racecourse, are made up of school buildings and residential properties. In a social media post, the college said:

“We hope everyone will respect the privacy of Emma’s family at this time and allow the college’s pupils, staff and the wider community the time and space necessary to come to terms with this loss.” The school also confirmed it would be in close contact with Surrey Police.