Worcestershire schoolboy took his own life due to exam pressure
A straight A-star schoolboy killed himself the day before a GCSE exam because he couldn’t cope with the pressure, an inquest has heard.
Josh Hanks, described as an “exceptional student” by teachers and classmates, hanged himself with a judo belt at his home in Weatheroak, near Alvechurch, Worcestershire, on April 29.
The 16-year-old had been due to take his French oral exam at South Bromsgrove High School the next day.
He had already achieved A-star grades in religious education, English and general science and was predicted to get top marks in all subjects.
His body was discovered by his mother Jacqui who noticed he was ‘tearful and agitated’ about his exams in the weeks leading up to his death.
During the hearing at Worcestershire Coroner’s Court she broke down in tears as she described the hours before the tragedy.
“He came home in the evening, my husband was still at work and my youngest son was playing cricket, I was in the kitchen and Josh came in with a piece of paper with eight paragraphs of French. He was reading and it was word perfect. I told him it was perfect and he said no, he said he hesitated and that his accents were in the wrong place.
