Published: Tuesday, 8th December, 2009 3:53pm

Inquiry opens following death of headteacher in Borders

THE family of a head teacher believed to be the first in Scotland to have taken her own life through the stresses of a school inspection hope the long-awaited inquiry into her death will prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

Irene Hogg, 54, was suspected of committing suicide just days after her leadership was verbally criticised by inspectors.

Almost 21 months after her death, a fatal accident inquiry opened at Jedburgh Sheriff Court this week.

The exact cause of Miss Hogg's death has yet to be revealed but she was known to be distraught at the verbal criticism she had received in a feedback session with two officers from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education.

Sheriff James Farrell will hear evidence regarding the events leading up to her body being found in the Cheviot Hills in March 2008.

This will include the inspection at Glendinning Terrace Primary School in Galashiels, Selkirkshire, and what support Miss Hogg received from Scottish Borders Council after she complained of her workload.

It is her family's view that the inspection should not have been allowed to go ahead because of the pressures Miss Hogg, head teacher at Glendinning Terrace for the past 19 years, had been experiencing and her requests for support months earlier had not been addressed.

Miss Hogg's brother Roger, 48 - who campaigned for an inquiry - has flown from Australia to attend the proceedings.

The inquiry is initially expected to last two weeks but could run through to January if required.

Mr Hogg said it was the family's hope that the Inquiry will be a thorough examination of all the events leading up to and surrounding his sister's death so that such a set of circumstances can be avoided in the future and that possibly other teachers and their families can benefit from not being placed in a similar position.

He added that Irene was a very strong person and highly respected in her profession and his family hope that the esteem in which she was held can be a catalyst for ensuring that any change that is recommended, actually does take place.

Miss Hogg had been in teaching for 32 years and head of the 91-pupil Glendinning Terrace Primary School where she also taught primary six and seven children.

Miss Hogg, who lived at Bowden, near Melrose, was understood to be upset by verbal criticism of her leadership following the visit by HMIE officers.

A full-scale search was launched when Miss Hogg failed to report back to work after the Easter break last year.

Her Peugeot car was found close to the Towford Outdoor Centre, near Morebattle, Roxburghshire, in the Cheviot Hills on the evening of March 26, 2008.

Her body was discovered by a burn nearby by police search teams.

Sheriff Farrell will determine the cause of death, any precautions by which the death might have been avoided and any defects in the system that caused or contributed to the death.

But a fatal accident inquiry cannot make any findings of fault or blame against individuals.

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