Education chiefs are to examine whether more can be done to help deeply troubled youngsters in the Wansbeck area, after the suspected suicides of two pupils at a school in Ashington.

The investigation will look into whether better partnership working between schools, the education authority, the police, social services and the NSPCC can offer more effective help and support to local teenagers who are in despair.

The inquiry has been prompted by the deaths of Hirst High School students Gemma Dimmick, 15, and Karl Peart, 16, in the past two weeks.

Gemma was found dead at her family's home in Ashington on Monday morning. She had left notes and is believed to have taken a quantity of tablets.

Two weeks ago Karl was also found dead at his home in Lynemouth, Northumberland, after apparently taking a cocktail of painkillers and alcohol and leaving a note for his parents.

Karl's mother and father claim he had suffered at the hands of bullies for years, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest that bullying played a part in Gemma's death.

Last night, Ged Lee, headteacher at Hirst High, said the school had joined forces with Northumberland County Council on plans for an investigation.

"What concerns us is that a lot of young people in this area may be suffering from mental health problems," he said. "Deprivation and unemployment is now so endemic in some parts that some young people have no self-esteem or self-worth and feel there is very little future for them.

"We are trying to raise pupils' self-esteem at this school, but we need to look at ourselves and other agencies and see if we could do more with some `joined-up thinking' to support young people who might be having troubles or problems."

Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy said he was shocked to hear about a second suspected suicide at the school and supported the decision to hold an inquiry, adding: "I would hope to be kept fully informed of the findings."

Gemma's father, Peter, 45, and stepmother, Denise, 43, were distraught at home in Ashington yesterday. Mr Dimmick said: "Gemma's death has come as a shock to us all. Gemma was a typical teenager, with her whole life in front of her.

"All Gemma's family need time to take in what has happened and ask that we are left alone to grieve, to prepare for her funeral on Friday, to try to make sense of what has happened and to think of how we can face the future without her. Gemma was loved dearly and will be greatly missed."

Pretty, dark-haired Gemma was the second-youngest of five children - two boys and three girls. She was the only one of the family at Hirst High School. Three weeks ago she was a bridesmaid at her father's wedding to her stepmother.

Sonya Peart, who lost her son, Karl, said Gemma's tragic death has devastated her and her husband, Ian. She said: "I heard the news late last night and I didn't sleep a wink thinking about that poor family and what they are going through. It has brought it all back again."

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "We are making enquiries into the death of a 15-year-old girl in George Street, Ashington," adding that the cause of death did not appear suspicious.

The Journal: Today's Voice of the North 

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