The debate surrounding a “statutory duty of care” for students in universities can be frustrating – because it is often framed alongside notions that students aren’t adults, and that universities (and their staff) should act as parents.
So a coroner’s report into the suicide of a student at Southampton University is important reading – because while it stops short of recommending “in loco parentis”, it does raise questions about the “awareness, understanding and curiosity” of academic staff around the mental health of students.
Matthew Wickes was an an engineering student who died by suicide in June 2022. The inquest in Winchester concluded that he died by suicide while suffering from an acute anxiety crisis.
Wickes was a third-year student who had been struggling with the pressures of study following successive lockdowns, as well as suffering from long Coid. He was also neurodiverse – something that he’d not disclosed formally to the university.
