Head of Epsom College

Head of Epsom College ‘s husband, who is understood to have killed his wife and seven-year-old daughter before turning his gun on himself, wrote he was ‘desperate to do something better with his days’ as he set up a doomed wine-importing business, it was revealed last night. 

George Pattison, 39, was an accountant with a history of business woes, vE most recently setting up consultancy firm Tanglewood in 2016, before taking out a £14,000 director’s loan in 2021.

In a presentation pitching a wine-importing company, he described himself as ‘a career accountant desperate to do something better with his days’, The Telegraph reports.

Mr Pattison said he had worked ‘in a variety of industries including corporate finance, investment management and financial consultancy’. 

It comes as comments from Emma in an interview published in School Management Plus magazine six days before her death emerged, in which she said she was looking forward to an ‘exciting future’. She was found dead alongside her husband and their daughter Lettie in their home on school grounds.

The family was discovered dead at their property within the school grounds at around 1.10am on Sunday, police said, shortly after Mrs Pattison made a distressed phone call to her sister. 

Mrs Pattison moved to the college with daughter Lettie in September, while husband George remained in their old £1.5million home in Caterham as its sale went through. 

Neighbours said Mr Pattison had been ‘flitting between’ their old house and the property at Epsom College before the keys were handed to the new owners last month.

It was only then that he moved into the family’s new home.

Neighbours described Mr Pattison as reserved and said they often saw him drinking wine alone in the family’s Caterham home.

Just hours before the shootings, , who said nothing appeared out of place or unusual between the couple.

Mr Pattison was understood to show no sign of being upset or worried during the evening. 

A friend of the family told : vE ‘On Saturday night they threw a dinner party.It was quite an intimate affair and literally turned out to be their last supper.

‘Nothing unusual happened. There were no arguments, no indication he would go on to do something so horrific a short time later.’

In an interview published days before her death, Mrs Pattison said she saw the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the independent schools sector as an opportunity.’It could be time to shape a really exciting future for the country,’ she said. 

She also spoke about plans to open the Surrey school to a wider section of the community by improving access with bursaries. 

Mrs Pattison added Covid-19 had brought about ‘an absolute sea change’ in what parents wanted for their children.

She said: ‘They used to talk about results and Oxbridge.That has turned about-face completely since Covid. It’s now about well-being, pastoral care, kindness, service and charity.’

She acknowledged challenges for the independent sector, saying: ‘The image of the exclusive private school has to be a thing of the past.Exclusivity is a dirty word nowadays. 

‘The independent schools sector has to offer something very different going forward, for its own pupils and for the social impact it could bring.’

Mrs Pattison added it was charity and impact on the local community which was closest to her heart, saying she wanted her pupils to become ‘part of the solution’ to society’s problems.

Interviewer Zoe MacDougall paid tribute to Mrs Pattison after news of her death emerged, praising her ‘warm and easy personality’.

She said: ‘Talking to Emma, it was clear that service and kindness were core values.Her vision was for her pupils to learn truths about the world around them, in preparation for the adults that she hoped they would become: people who would play leading roles in society with understanding, compassion and integrity. 

‘I found her inspirational.’

It emerged yesterday that Mrs Pattison made a distressed phone call to her sister Deborah Kirk in the early hours of Sunday morning, just minutes before she would be shot dead. If you have any type of questions relating to where and the best ways to use n E, you can call us at the web site.  

Ms Kirk immediately jumped into a car and drove out to the college in Surrey, but arrived too late and discovered her sister’s body as well as those of her husband George and Lettie.

Surrey Police confirmed they believe Mr Pattison shot his wife and daughter dead before turning the weapon on himself, and that no third party was involved in the killings. 

The force has referred itself to the independent watchdog over the triple shooting after it emerged they had been in touch with Mr Pattison just days before.

The killer had held a shotgun licence for many years and officers had called him to check on the storage for his firearm last Thursday.Officers did not visit the premises.

Home Office regulations state that gun owners must notify police of any change of address as soon as they move.

In December, Mrs Pattison told a student podcast that her move had been ‘a really big change for n E my family’, adding: ‘I’ve got a new job, my husband got a new job, which wasn’t meant to happen, but did, and my daughter has started a new school.’ 

A neighbour of the family in Caterham told MailOnline: ‘It’s horrific what’s happened at the college.I never heard any arguing or anything like that when they lived here. 

‘They appeared to have it all – a nice house, good jobs and lots of money.

‘As well as the BMW, George also drove a Jaguar XR and an Audi S5.They’d also spent a lot of money doing up the house.

‘When they first moved in it was quite a scruffy granny-style house but they’d extended the kitchen and landscaped the back garden as well as improving the front of the house.