The University of Glasgow is facing serious questions about its academic assessment procedures following the death of a student who took his own life after being incorrectly informed he had failed to earn his degree. Ethan Scott Brown, a 23-year-old geography student, was found dead by his mother on December 13, 2024—the day he should have graduated. The tragedy occurred three months after university officials had erroneously notified Brown that he lacked the necessary credits to receive his honors degree.

An internal investigation conducted by the university revealed that Brown had actually achieved a 2:1 honors degree, but systemic errors in grading had led to the incorrect assessment. The inquiry found that confusion about assessment rules resulted in Brown being assigned the wrong grade for one course, and this mistake went undetected through two internal exam boards and one external review panel. University authorities have described the incident as a "tragic error" while maintaining it was an isolated case.

Brown's family has accused the university of repeated incompetence in the months leading up to his death. His mother, Tracy Scott, stated that her son had reported suffering from mental health problems but received inadequate support from university staff. The internal investigation confirmed that Brown had alerted staff about his mental health struggles but was not offered appropriate counseling or support services, omissions the university acknowledged in its findings.

The case has raised broader concerns about academic assessment systems and student welfare protocols within higher education institutions. Brown's family and their legal representative, Aamer Anwar, have called for transparency regarding whether other students might be affected by similar grading errors. While the university has expressed its deepest sympathies to the family, the incident continues to prompt examination of institutional responsibility in both academic evaluation and student wellbeing support.

Northern Ireland continues to dominate UK house price growth, posting a remarkable 9.6% annual increase in the third quarter according to Nationwide Building Society data. This performance significantly outpaces other UK regions, echoing trends seen in border regions of Ireland in recent quarters. The sustained strength in Northern Ireland's property market stands in stark contrast to more modest growth patterns elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Wales demonstrated steady improvement with annual house price growth accelerating to 3.0% in the third quarter, up from 2.6% in the previous quarter. The average house price in Wales now stands at £213,359, remaining below the UK average of approximately £272,000. Scotland experienced a slowdown in growth to 2.9% from 4.5% in the second quarter, while England saw further deceleration with annual growth dropping to 1.6% from 2.5% in the previous quarter.

Regional disparities within England reveal a clear north-south divide. Northern England, comprising North, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber, East Midlands and West Midlands, recorded average price growth of 3.4% year-on-year. The North region specifically emerged as England's top performer with prices up 5.1% annually. Meanwhile, Southern England saw growth slow to just 0.7%, driven by marked softening in Outer Metropolitan and Outer South East regions, with the latter being the weakest performing area at just 0.3% growth.

Property type performance shows semi-detached homes leading the market with 3.4% annual price growth, followed by detached properties at 2.5% and terraced homes at 2.4%. Flats experienced a slight decline of 0.3% year-on-year and have shown noticeably weaker growth than other property types over the longer term. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, noted that despite global economic uncertainties, underlying conditions for potential home buyers remain supportive, with housing market activity likely to strengthen gradually if the broader economic recovery is maintained.