University settles case with family of student who took his own life after being wrongly told he had failed
Published: | Updated:
The family of a student who took his own life after mistakenly being told he had failed his course have settled a civil court action against the University of Glasgow.
Ethan Brown, 23, was looking forward to graduating in December 2024 after studying geography.
But he was told in September that year that he had not been awarded a grade for one course and would not be eligible to graduate with an honours degree.
His loved ones say that as a result he took his own life on December 13 that year – the very day he should have graduated.
He was found dead in his bedroom by his mother, Tracy Scott, early that morning.
Ms Scott, who later collected her son’s degree posthumously, has called for a fatal accident inquiry to be held.
On Tuesday, the family released a statement through their solicitor, Aamer Anwar, confirming the civil action was over but adding they would not stop campaigning for a full probe.
It said: ‘Following the suicide of University of Glasgow student Ethan Brown, we launched a civil action which has now been settled by the university.
Ethan Brown was looking forward to graduating in December 2024 after studying geography
His family have settled a civil court action against the University of Glasgow.
‘It was only after Ethan’s family challenged the university’s handling of his academic results that an internal investigation established he had been incorrectly graded.
‘Ethan should in fact have graduated with a 2:1 honours degree and the error had not been identified by university staff, two internal examination boards or an external examination board.
'The family were devastated to learn the mistake had passed through multiple levels of the university’s assessment and examination process without being detected.
‘Despite Ethan disclosing concerns about his mental health, he was not provided with appropriate support by the university that may have saved his life.’
The family are due to meet Holyrood Education Secretary Mairi McAllan today.
The sum of the settlement has not been disclosed. But the family insisted that searches for ‘truth and accountability’ around his death should continue.
The statement continued: ‘The family continue to call for a full and transparent investigation into the university’s academic processes, decision-making and student welfare procedures, or it is only a matter of time before another family experiences the same tragic loss.’
An investigation following his death revealed a catastrophic series of administrative errors.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andy Schofield, said Mr Brown ‘should have been here to collect the honours degree that he earned’.
A University of Glasgow spokesman said: ‘The university is profoundly sorry that Ethan tragically took his own life and fully understands the deep distress this has caused his family.
‘We repeat our sincere apology as well as our deepest sympathy.
‘Following an internal investigation into assessment regulations, the university self-referred to the Scottish Funding Council.
‘The quality assurance agency subsequently carried out a targeted peer review, which resulted in a series of recommendations. The university fully accepted the recommendations and is on track to implement them.’
■ For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.