An 18-year-old talented Indian-origin girl in the UK jumped to her death on A-level results day because she missed out on her first choice university, an inquest heard last week.
The body of Harpreet Kaur Hallaith, from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region of England, was found in High Rock, a scenic spot in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, a day after she was reported missing by her parents in August. A suicide note was also recovered, her inquest at Shropshire Coroner’s Court was told this week. “I can’t think what Harpreet was thinking that day but I can’t think she really intended to take her own life,” her mother told the inquest.
“She was a happy child (who) loved school and had lots of friends. She developed a keen interest in languages as well as history. Harpreet was always very popular,” she added. Senior Coroner for Shropshire John Ellery recorded a verdict of suicide and said the medical cause of death was “multiple injuries”.
Harpreet was a brainy girl who attended Wolverhampton Girls’ High School.
The “high-achieving” teenager needed two A* grades and one A from her subjects in order to get a place studying Russian and History at Durham University.
But she was disappointed after achieving one A and two Bs in Russian, Latin and History on A-level results day on August 18.
However, she had been informed by email that her grades were good enough to get into her second choice, the University of Edinburgh.
Harpreet left home for a walk after getting her results and was reported missing by her parents when she failed to return home a few hours later.
Her possessions were discovered at the top of High Rock, a spot 11 miles away where she often went to think, before her body was recovered by local police.
The inquest was also told that the teenager had almost overdosed on paracetamol in February this year.
But the larger question is – is it worth killing yourself for poor exam results? Is life only about academics? Are exam results the be-all and end-all of success? Certainly not. There is more to life than just academics. Not every successful person on this planet has been a meritorious student. Many of them made it big without a brilliant academic track record. Failure, if taken in the right spirit, can do wonders and for many it has been a stepping stone to success.
J K Rowling, the author of the ‘Harry Potter’ series was head girl and gained two As and a B at A-Level. However, she was rejected from Oxford University and instead studied at the University of Exeter. In those seven years after graduating, she had many different jobs but after the success of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, she went on to write six more books in the series. She’s since sold hundreds of millions of copies, and the books have also been adapted into hugely popular films.
Failures and disappointments are part of life and it’s important that children are told about how to cope with them.
Entrepreneur Rami Ranger, CBE, who founded Sun Mark Ltd, says: “This is yet another tragic story where a young, bright and talented student has taken her own life for falling short of expectations set by herself. This tragedy once again highlights the need for parents and teachers to discuss and explain to youngsters how to deal with disappointments in life. In fact, life is full of disappointments and it is paramount we prepare them as to how they should deal with such situations. We must bring home the fact that one does not have to be academically brilliant to get the best out of life.
“There are many examples where people who were not academically brilliant but still went on to achieve great heights in their lives. The Rt. Hon John Major, former British Prime Minister, Sir Richard Branson, Lord Alan Sugar and Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, are prime examples.
“In fact, I too was a mediocre student and yet I received honours from Her Majesty the Queen on eight occasions and became the most decorated businessman in Britain.
“Harpreet Kaur Hallaith has left a big void in the lives of her family who must be feeling helpless and distraught, not to mention guilty for no fault of theirs. Sadly, the person who takes their own life takes the secret of their action with them. No one should feel bad or take responsibility for Harpreet’s action. Every parent tries to do the best for their children and the fact that Harpreet was sent to the best school speaks volumes about the love and care her parents had for her.”
Children should realise life is not just about grades.
Lord Bhikhu Parekh says: “Like any other parent I was distressed to hear about Harpreet’s suicide. In the absence of all the relevant information it is difficult to say what factors played a part and how much stress she was under. However it is obvious that she took her own life because of her grades. It’s very important for children to realise that life is not about grades. It is also important for the elders to get this message across to young people. In this age where achievement and performance mean so much, this is not easy and cases like Harpreet will continue to occur. Our job is to keep doing our best to discourage such incidents as effectively as we can.”
There is a need to ensure that children receive help and guidance at every stage of their life.
Lord Navnit Dholakia says: “This is indeed a sad news and our sympathy must go to Harpreet’s family and friends. We pray that they will have strength and support of the community towards this tragedy. In the present day and age of digitalised world youngsters go through considerable pressure to achieve success in the education field which ultimately leads to a prosperous career. Parents are also ambitious and take great pride in the achievements of their children. It is all part of the growing up process. However it is imperative that all of us are aware of the need to ensure that children receive help and guidance at every stage so that there are no obstacles in their development. Schools and colleges can also play an important role here.
“Let us hope that we will all work to ensure that children are able to share their concerns with friends, family and parents so that tragedies of this nature can never surface again.”
