Teen found dead in Birmingham Sutton Park lake ‘brought light’ to school

A boy who was found dead after he was reported missing in a lake in Birmingham “brought light and character” to his entire school, his teachers said.

Daniel Drewitt died on Thursday and his body was recovered from the water in Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield.

Staff at Colmers School and Sixth Form College paid tribute to the 16-year-old and said he was confident, full of life and a talented sportsman.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and West Midlands Police said they were liaising with the coroner.

Their tribute said the whole school was left deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of the Year 11 student.

“Daniel was a young man who brought light and character to our entire school community; he was confident, full of life, a talented sportsman and so deeply loved by staff and fellow pupils alike,” they added.

“His warm presence and positive spirit will be sorely missed.”

A spokesperson for the school said they were doing all they could to support people during a difficult time.

“We know how deeply this loss will be felt by many and we are committed to ensuring no member of our school community feels alone in their grief,” they added.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Daniel’s family.”

The school’s pastoral team, counsellors and senior staff were working together to provide spaces and support for students, the spokesperson said.

Pupils are being offered time for reflection, one-to-one talks and access to emotional and wellbeing support.

Police said extensive efforts were made by all the emergency services to find Daniel.

Specialist teams and Birmingham City Council were involved in the search for him and his body was recovered from the water just after 22:00 BST.

The lake is normally a busy area and it is a popular park, but the whole pool was cordoned off while the search was carried out on Thursday.

Boats were used, with emergency services seen getting in and out of the water at times.

The Our Sutton Park community group thanked fishermen, who it said had jumped in the water in an attempt to save him.

The group said it wanted to send its “deepest condolences to the parents of the young boy”.

The cordon was gone on Friday morning and Raymond Stewart, who regularly fishes in the lake, said when he had arrived at 04:35 BST there were no signs of activity from the night before.

“It’s a tragedy really, such a young life lost,” he said.

There are signs around the lake warning people not to swim but Mr Stewart said: “When I’m fishing here you see people swimming here all the time.

“I was here last Wednesday and there must have been 15 get in the pool.”