- Jake Pirie, 17, killed himself following a visit home to the Yorkshire Dales
- The teenager had been on his way back to Uppingham School
- His mother told inquest he was worried about coursework and had been feeling unwell for weeks
- Jake found his father dead at home when he was just three years old
A mother yesterday described the moment she kissed her son goodbye but suppressed the urge to go back and give him a second hug – moments before he threw himself in front of a high-speed train.
Sarah Pirie, 50, had driven her son Jake to the station after a weekend break at home so he could return to boarding school, an inquest heard.
She stood on tiptoes to kiss her 6ft 6in son and went back to the car.
‘I thought about going back to give him another hug,’ she said. ‘But I thought: “No. He’s 17 now. He’s grown up.”’
Suicide: Jake Pirie killed himself on the way back to boarding school in February this year at the age of 17
Star pupil: Jake was a top student at Uppingham School and was set to continue to university this year
The teenager had been worrying about getting behind with his English A-level coursework and a virus had stopped him playing sport all term.
But his mother said she thought he ‘seemed better’ – and after saying goodbye on the platform she returned home to email his housemaster that he was getting back to his normal self.
Sadly the sixth-former, a pupil at the £30,000-a-year Uppingham School in Rutland, was already dead by the time she sent the email.
The inquest was told that when his mother asked if he wanted to buy a return ticket, Jake replied:
Shocked: Those who knew the teenager said there was no indication that he was feeling suicidal at the time of his death
‘No, just get a single. I don’t know when I’m next going home or what is going on.’
She added: ‘He told me that he loved me as well. But that was quite normal.’
The tragedy happened 14 years after Jake’s father James Pirie also committed suicide when he was 39.
Mrs Pirie told the inquest Jake was a small boy when he witnessed his father try to kill himself in 1998.
He succeeded a year later and four-year-old Jake was with his mother when they discovered the body.
Asked how this affected her son, Mrs Pirie replied: ‘He had been starting to ask more questions about his father and what he was like.’
She also told the hearing Jake’s grandmother suffered from clinical depression and was being treated in a psychiatric unit.
The inquest in Northallerton heard Jake was a ‘talented pupil’ who had offers from three universities.
He was worried about English coursework that was due to be handed in and had asked for the deadline to be extended after losing a memory stick he needed to complete it.
Mrs Pirie said her son had been allowed home to Thornton Steward, North Yorkshire, on the weekend that he died in February this year because his grandmother had become unwell.
She said they had a ‘peaceful weekend’ although he had ‘not eaten as much as he normally did’.
Grieving: Jake's friends took to Facebook to pay tribute to him in the aftermath of the tragedy
Jake seemed in good spirits when she drove him to the station late on Sunday afternoon to return to school.
He called a friend to discuss sharing a taxi from Peterborough station to school.
Describing the incident, train driver John Ashby said he sounded the horn as a warning when he saw the young man close to the platform edge.
‘The person seemed to hesitate and step back – then jumped turning his back to the train,’ he said.
He applied the emergency brake but couldn’t avoid hitting the teenager, who died from multiple injuries.
Mrs Pirie said her son usually played for the school rugby team but had not felt well enough to join in all term because of an undiagnosed virus, which she thought might have been glandular fever.
Unexpected: Northallerton Station, where Jake killed himself after being dropped off by his mother
Jake's house master Jonathan Lee said the 17-year-old had obtained nine GCSEs and four AS-levels, and had three university offers.
'He appeared to be suffering from flu and had got behind with his studies,' he said. 'His mother was concerned about Jake's motivation and lethargy. She also mentioned he had strained his back.
'I didn't think he was not motivated. But he did appear tired.'
Deputy head Karl Wilding said: ‘Although Jake had anxieties about his schoolwork they were not above and beyond any other pupil at that stage of his school career.
'He rarely spoke about his father. There was genuine surprise and shock at Jake's death.'
Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Michael Oakley said: '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 and some work due to be handed in.
'But there was no indication he was going to do anything as drastic as what happened.'
Suicide: Jake Pirie killed himself on the way back to boarding school in February this year at the age of 17
Star pupil: Jake was a top student at Uppingham School and was set to continue to university this year
The teenager had been worrying about getting behind with his English A-level coursework and a virus had stopped him playing sport all term.
But his mother said she thought he ‘seemed better’ – and after saying goodbye on the platform she returned home to email his housemaster that he was getting back to his normal self.
Sadly the sixth-former, a pupil at the £30,000-a-year Uppingham School in Rutland, was already dead by the time she sent the email.
The inquest was told that when his mother asked if he wanted to buy a return ticket, Jake replied:
Shocked: Those who knew the teenager said there was no indication that he was feeling suicidal at the time of his death
Grieving: Jake's friends took to Facebook to pay tribute to him in the aftermath of the tragedy
Jake seemed in good spirits when she drove him to the station late on Sunday afternoon to return to school.
He called a friend to discuss sharing a taxi from Peterborough station to school.
Describing the incident, train driver John Ashby said he sounded the horn as a warning when he saw the young man close to the platform edge.
‘The person seemed to hesitate and step back – then jumped turning his back to the train,’ he said.
He applied the emergency brake but couldn’t avoid hitting the teenager, who died from multiple injuries.
Mrs Pirie said her son usually played for the school rugby team but had not felt well enough to join in all term because of an undiagnosed virus, which she thought might have been glandular fever.
Unexpected: Northallerton Station, where Jake killed himself after being dropped off by his mother
Jake's house master Jonathan Lee said the 17-year-old had obtained nine GCSEs and four AS-levels, and had three university offers.
'He appeared to be suffering from flu and had got behind with his studies,' he said. 'His mother was concerned about Jake's motivation and lethargy. She also mentioned he had strained his back.
'I didn't think he was not motivated. But he did appear tired.'
Deputy head Karl Wilding said: ‘Although Jake had anxieties about his schoolwork they were not above and beyond any other pupil at that stage of his school career.
'He rarely spoke about his father. There was genuine surprise and shock at Jake's death.'
Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Michael Oakley said: '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 and some work due to be handed in.
'But there was no indication he was going to do anything as drastic as what happened.'
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