A teacher at a public school attended by the Princess of Wales took his own life after being sacked for inappropriate behaviour.
John Wright, who taught physics at Marlborough College for a decade, was found dead by his wife at their family home on November 3.
An inquest into his death at Wiltshire coroner’s court opened last week. It gave his cause of death as injuries consistent with hanging.
The Daily Mail reported that Wright, 54, was sacked by the college after a 17-day exchange trip to Marlborough’s sister school in Malaysia during the spring half-term holiday.
After an internal investigation into what had happened on the trip, which was attended by 29 pupils, several allegations over his conduct were deemed to be proven. He was dismissed in the summer and an appeal by Wright into the outcome of the investigation was unsuccessful.
A source close to Wright’s family told the newspaper: “The way John was treated was outrageous. It’s not quite clear to us what John was sacked for, but it hit him really hard. We’ve heard it was for inappropriate comments, but I’ve been told that most of these were innocuous.
“This is all part of a stricter safeguarding regime at Marlborough and staff are genuinely concerned about their careers and there is a sense of mistrust and fear among them. They are horrified at what’s happened because John was an outstanding physics teacher.”
The Wiltshire public school, founded in 1843, is for pupils aged between 13 and 18 and for boarders costs more than £60,000 a year. Its alumni includes the comedian Jack Whitehall and the Princess of Wales, who attended between 1996 and 2000.
The Princess of Wales attended the school
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The school is also one being considered by the Prince or Princess of Wales for Prince George, 12, who is in his final year at Lambrook School in Berkshire.
There are said to be concerns among school leaders about the impact of Wright’s death. The source said: “The speculation is that Prince George is coming to Marlborough and the college hierarchy are concerned about the damage John’s death could have on its reputation.”
Wright, who previously lived and worked in New Zealand before moving back to the UK, lived with his wife and two children a ten-minute walk away from the college. His wife is also believed to work as a teacher.
Wiltshire police described the incident as “a sudden death” with no suspicious circumstances. Marlborough College was contacted for comment.
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