A-level pupil discovered useless at UK faculty as mum asks ‘why cannot folks be nicer’
Sam Coutts, 18, was found dead in the toilets at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington – his heartbroken mum urged people to ‘think about the power of their words’
College student Sam Coutts, 18 (Image: North News & Pictures Ltd)
An A-level student was tragically discovered dead in the toilets of his college after being reported missing, an inquest has heard. 18-year-old Sam Coutts passed away at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington on January 13.
His heartbroken family believe “the world got too much” for him and shared that he had been grappling to find his place. An inquest into his untimely death was opened at Crook Coroners’ Court on Tuesday, where it was revealed that emergency services were called to the college due to concerns about his wellbeing.
Coroners’ officer Bradley King informed the hearing: “I understand the circumstances to be that Sam was found dead in the toilets of his college.”
Sam’s mum, Kirsten Coutts, 48, who attended the opening of the inquest, shared that before his death, he had increasingly become more withdrawn.
“He was such a funny boy and there wasn’t a bad bone in his body,” she said. “He was such a lovely boy, but there was also streak of mischief in him.
“He had started to withdraw a little bit. He even told me that I was neurotypical and couldn’t understand – but we had tried so hard to understand his own unique ways.
“Someone said to me that ‘the world got too much for him’ and I believe that is exactly what happened to Sam.”
Mother-of-four Kirsten revealed that Sam, who was studying biology, psychology and applied science, had wanted to change so much about himself, but that he remained “our beautiful boy”.
She continued: “Autistic people can be isolated and lonely and they can’t always articulate what they are feeling or why they are feeling a certain way.
“People really need to think about the impact their words can have on people – to them it might just be a throwaway comment, but it has the drip, drip effect on others.
“At times he wanted to change so much about himself, how he looked, how he moved, and that was because of what people had said to him over the years.”
The family had previously expressed hopes that others might learn to show greater kindness, acknowledging that everyone faces unseen struggles.
Kristen, who works as a nurse, continued: “If there is one thing that I could hope to come as a result of our heartbreak, it would be for people to think about what they say to other people and think about the power of their words.
“People can say the cruellest things about others and it doesn’t have to be that way – why can’t people just be nicer to each other.”
Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield postponed the inquest until March 18.
