PhD student took her own life after classmates mocked her for not being 'posh enough', inquest hears

A PhD student took her own life after her classmates mocked her for not being “posh enough” and not knowing how to sail, an inquest has heard.

Jessica Small, a 26-year-old anthropology student at the University of Kent, suffered from low-self esteem after being allegedly bullied for being state-educated and having a different accent to her privately educated peers.

Her long-running symptoms of anxiety and depression were exacerbated by the “toxic” environment present in the university's laboratory, according to her mother, Lesley, who said she was also struggling with her thesis.

Miss Small was found hanged at her home in Canterbury on October 11 last year. She had been taking antidepressants and undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy at the time of her death.

Her mother today told the Maidstone hearing: “She really had such low self-esteem. She was questioning whether she should be doing the PhD. She was getting palpitations and having sweats to the point that she was getting panic attacks. She told me people in her lab made her life hell, that it was toxic.

“The underlying issue was that Jess had gone through state education and the others had gone through private education. She 'wasn't posh enough'. She put a lot of pressure on herself. She told me about being mocked for her accent and because she'd never been sailing.”

Miss Small, a talented student who had already graduated with a first-class undergraduate degree, received a “very prestigious” vice chancellor's scholarship to fund her PhD studies.

She was described as a “great teacher” by Chris Deter, her course supervisor, who had seen her teach modules to younger students as part of her degree.

In April last year, Miss Small revealed she was suffering from depression and took a short break to recover after staff noticed her frequently missing deadlines.

When she missed another deadline on her return to university, Dr Deter contacted  the university's wellbeing adviser to ask if he would attend a meeting with her on October 8.

However, Miss Small failed to show up, prompting colleagues to contact her family in High Wycombe when she was not seen for several days afterwards.

Her parents rang the police, who broke into Miss Small's flat and found her dead.

Police investigating Miss Small's death looked into allegations of bullying but after interviewing her colleagues found that while there had been past problems, these were later resolved.

In a statement read by coroner Eileen Sproson, her mum said: “I knew she was on antidepressants. If she had any real issues she would tell me. Jess had not expressed any suicidal thoughts to me.

“We were planning to visit her in Canterbury - the hotel was booked for the three of us. She was already looking forward to Christmas, which was her favourite time of year.”

The Telegraph has contacted the University of Kent for comment.