Train tragedy of teen who fretted over school work

A GIFTED pupil who plunged to his death in front of a train on his way back to boarding school was needlessly fretting about getting behind with his work, an inquest heard.
Jake Pirie, 17, from Leyburn, North YorkshireJake Pirie, 17, from Leyburn, North Yorkshire
Jake Pirie, 17, from Leyburn, North Yorkshire

Jake Pirie, 17, had gone down with a bug which a trip to a doctor failed to diagnose and which kept him out of games and disrupted his studies.

The tragic teenager then killed himself by stepping in front of a 125mph train at Northallerton station in North Yorkshire – moments after his mother kissed him goodbye.

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Never dreaming anything was wrong, his mother had left him on the platform to email the house master at his exclusive boarding school that her son seemed to be getting back to his normal self after an illness.

He had already scored highly in his exams and was holding offers from three universities – although his place depended on his final grades, the hearing was told. He was worried about some English coursework which was due in but had asked for the deadline to be extended after losing a memory stick he needed to complete it.

He had also strained his back – which had prevented him taking part in games since the start of term, his mother Sarah, 50, told the inquest in Northallerton.

On the weekend of the tragedy, her son had been allowed home to the Yorkshire Dales for the weekend by elite Uppingham School in Rutland.

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Mrs Pirie said her son was quieter than normal when she picked him up from Darlington Station and they drove back to the hamlet of Thornton Steward, near Ripon.

She added: “He had not eaten as much as he normally did. We drove home. It was a peaceful weekend.”

On Sunday teatime, she drove him to Northallerton station to catch the train back to school.

He seemed in good spirits and had called a pal about sharing a cab from Peterborough station back to school.

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Jake waited in the car while she bought a single ticket. “I did say ‘Do you want a return because it’s cheaper?’” Mrs Pirie continued.

“He said ‘No. Just get a single. I don’t know when I’m next going home or what’s going on’.”

She stood on tiptoe to kiss her 6ft 6ins tall son goodbye on the platform. She said: “I thought about going back to give him another hug. But I thought ‘No. He’s 17 now. He’s grown up’.

“He told me he loved me as well. But that was quite normal.”

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Her son had fallen ill with a virus, which she thought might be glandular fever, two days before going back to school in January.

He usually played for the school football team but had not felt well enough all term.

She said as a small boy Jake had seen his father James make an attempt on his life in 1998 and was with her when they both found his body when he succeeded in killing himself the following year.

Asked how this affected Jake, she replied: “He was starting to ask more questions about his father and what he was like.”

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His grandmother also suffered from clinical depression and was being treated in a psychiatric unit, she added.

Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict that Jake killed himself. He added: “He placed himself with his back to an oncoming train which he would have known was literally on top of him when he did this.

“There is no real suggestion as to why he should have done that. He had been ill. He had some sort of virus and was concerned about getting behind with his work.

“But there was no indication he was going to do anything as drastic as what happened.”