Girl's death was 'not linked to bullying'

Belinda Allen of Southwater had become the second pupil at Tanbridge House School in Horsham to be found hanged in 13 months.

She was found with a scarf round her neck, hanging from a tree in Southwater by a member of nearby Southwater Sports Club who was walking his dogs at 6.50pm on Tuesday last week.

Headteacher Jules White, who was in only the second day of his appointment as head of the school, has maintained her death had not been prompted by abuse from fellow pupils.

This was also the view of police. Pupils at the school shared the view and were angry that some sectors of the media were casting a slur over the school and that certain newspapers had prompted a very small number of pupils to suggest that Belinda was being bullied.

For full story see West Sussex Gazette January 16