Mared Foulkes Wiki
Mared Foulkes Biography
Who was Mared Foulkes?
Mared Foulkes, 21, was devastated when an email arrived saying she had failed the exam and would not be able to proceed to the third year of her pharmacy degree.
The automated email Mared received did not take her recovery grade into account, and her score was later updated to a passing grade.
An investigation at Caernarfon heard an email saying that she had failed with a score of 39 per cent, when in fact she had passed with 62 per cent.
Thirty-nine percent related to a previous exam that she had failed and not to the make-up exam that she had taken and passed.
Mared’s parents, Iona and Glyngwyn Foulkes, have since received an apology from university directors, who have promised to simplify the examination process.
Vice Chancellor Prof Colin Riordan said:
The deputy chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan, said: “I apologize now, absolutely.”
He added: ‘I deeply regret this sequence of events. It’s a devastating set of circumstances and I absolutely understand the family’s need for answers to their questions.
‘I am very happy, of course, to talk to Mared’s parents, if that is what they would like.
“I recognize that we have improvements to make, we have learned from the coroner’s report and we will ensure those improvements are made.
“Exam results will be communicated in a way that leaves no room for confusion in the future.”
Investigation
Mared, from Menai Bridge, Anglesey, was found dead on July 8, 2020.
An investigation at Caernarfon heard an email saying he had failed with a score of 39 per cent, when in fact he had passed with 62 per cent.
Mared’s mother, Iona, told the hearing: “She got an automated email, there was nothing personal, no phone call, nothing. She believed that she had failed and the email said that she could not move forward with her title.
She ‘she was given to her course and her work in the pharmacy, she would have been horrified.
“It would have felt like all her dreams and aspirations had ended with that sentence, for a 21-year-old it’s unbelievable.”
Acting North West Wales Coroner Katie Sutherland concluded that she had committed suicide and wrote to the university urging a clarification of the results system.
Mared’s parents said they were “encouraged” that the university made changes.
Ms Jones said:
She just went up and passed in a split second, there was no way to stop and think.
‘She just disappeared.’
The public called the emergency services, but unfortunately Miss Foulkes was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination later revealed that she suffered a fatal head injury in the fall.
Before taking her own life, Miss Foulkes had texted one of her housemates about her results saying, “I f**ked.”
The inquest also heard how Ms Foulkes had sought help from student support services prior to her death, but was not believed at the time to pose a risk to herself or others.
