Family of student who took her own life seven hours after university result want better duty of care

• Nest Jenkins reports.

A family from Anglesey who lost their daughter to suicide four years ago are calling on universities to provide better duty of care for their students. 

Mared Foulkes died in July 2020, seven hours after receiving her results from Cardiff University. 

These indicated that she had failed one assessment and would not be able to continue into her third year, despite the fact that she had re-sat her exam and passed. 

“She was very conscientious, and she went to university to succeed,” Mared's mum Iona said. 

Hours after receiving an email with her results, 21-year-old Mared took her own life.

"She left that day believing she had failed the year and wasn't able to go back to Cardiff," Iona Foulkes told S4C’s current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar. 

"We have never been the same again. This family unit has gone forever."

The family say the result Mared received was misleading, and wrongly stated that she was unable to continue with her studies.

At the inquest into Mared's death in October 2021, the coroner said the way Cardiff University communicated the results was "complex and confusing".

"They've lost a student, but I've lost a very, very sweet girl,” Iona said.

“I have to pass her grave every day, do [Cardiff University] have to do that?” 

Campaigning for better duty of care to students at university 

Iona and the family are part of the 'For the 100' campaign, a group of families calling for better duty of care for students from their universities. The ‘100’ represents the number of students who die by suicide every year in Britain. 

With the help of lawyers, Iona has created a report with recommendations for universities to try to prevent student suicides.

Recommendations include improving the way universities communicate with families about their children's mental health, and an 'opt-out' system if students do not want their parents to know about any serious wellbeing concerns.

"Currently, the confidentiality law restricts universities from contacting the family if a serious welfare or mental health situation arises," said solicitor Dr Emma Roberts, who has helped the family write the report.

"We want to see the consistency from one university to another, and only by changing the law can that happen."

Nine months before Mared died, she had visited University Support Services to discuss her mental health. The family were unaware of this for a year following her death.

For Iona Foulkes, the lack of communication from the university was "shocking".

"I have to do this, as a grieving mother," Iona said. "Things are very slow to develop. No one else should lose their life before things change.

"It was a totally unnecessary tragedy."

Cardiff University 'apologised to family'

A spokesperson for Cardiff University said: "We are very sorry that the family feels that we have shown a lack of sympathy – that was never our intention. We know the family feel we could have done things differently and we have apologised for where we did not get things right."

Following the inquest into Mared's death, they said they wanted to "improve the tone and language of all our written communications to our students”, and that the practice of using a notional or estimated mark to record an academic ‘fail’ where a student has not met a competency standard had been stopped with immediate effect.

They have since revised their processes to ensure the university is as “open and transparent as possible in responding to questions that may arise from family and friends, recognising there may be limits to this where there is a police investigation and coroner’s inquest.

They said they respect the family's calls for an 'opt-out' system and are continuing to review this as part of their current review into their University Mental Health and Suicide Safety strategies. 

A spokesperson added: "However, we must respect the privacy of our students, as some students, for different reasons, do not want their information to be shared with their parents."

They have "a new system that allows students to choose one specific person when they start university as a special contact, who will be contacted if any serious concerns arise."

Y Byd ar Bedwar: Marwolaeth Mared Foulkes will air on S4C at 8pm on Monday, 11 November. English subtitles are available. 

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…