The University will be saddened to hear of the death of first year Engineering student Matthew (Matt) Pollard who died at the weekend in Cornwall.

Matt became enthused about studying engineering in part because of his work as a guide at the BT Goonhilly Earth Station and what he described as the many great structures he saw there. This made him consider the skill and work that went into them and how they were created.

The Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Thrift said: "Many people will be impacted by Matt’s death: his family and friends at home, his fellow residents, the staff and students of his academic department. The thoughts of the entire University community are with them as they start to come to terms with their loss. It is understandably very difficult to find any comfort in such a tragic situation but I hope this will come as we start to focus on the positive contribution that Matt made to the lives of those around him."

The Student Support Services are available to anyone who needs advice or support at this time:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/student-support-services

A book of condolence is now available in the Chaplaincy.

Matthew’s funeral will take place at 12 noon on Friday 14 May in Cornwall. A coach has been arranged to take students who would like to attend the funeral of Matthew Pollard in Cornwall on Friday 14th May. Any students who would like a seat on this coach should contact Student Support at studentsupport@warwick.ac.uk or tel: 024 76 575570, ext. 75570. The coach will collect students at 5am on Friday from Library Road and take them directly to the crematorium. Return time to Warwick is expected to be around 9-10pm.

To support those students who are unable to attend the funeral, there will be a memorial service for Matthew at 1.15pm on Friday 14 May in the Chaplaincy.