Doctor disputes ‘near drowning’ of GHS student

A doctor who was present at a poolside in Bequia on Friday, April 11, 2025 where the parent of a student of the Girls’ High School (GHS) later said her daughter almost drowned has contradicted that conclusion stating that what transpired is not considered as a near drowning.

The student was in Bequia as part of the annual one day retreat for form five students of the Girls’ High School which is held ahead of CXC/CSEC examinations.

Dr. Rossanna Marks told SEARCHLIGHT on April 23, 2025 that while she is not disputing that someone can experience trauma from a frightening situation; however the apparent incident was never reported to any of the parents or teachers who were present, and they only learnt about it when the GHS Headmistress, Latoya DeRoche-John, received a phone call from the mother of the girl hours after the trip ended. The situation apparently escalated when relatives of the child went to the school and verbally attacked the Headmistress a few days later.

The poolside incident was brought into the public domain through a local online publication, and has been receiving extensive comments.

The article was also followed by a written piece by former reporter, Marlon Bute, and recordings of the incident are currently in circulation on social media.

In the interview with SEARCHLIGHT last Wednesday, Dr. Marks said she is a trained lifeguard and medical doctor who has dealt with drownings and near drownings, and this incident is not in any of those categories.

She also stressed that accusations of victim blaming are ludicrous as the student remained in the pool after the incident, later got out, ate lunch and went back into the pool, never mentioning anything had happened. Dr. Marks said nothing was mentioned on the trip to the ferry from the poolside, nothing was mentioned on the trip to the mainland onboard the ferry, and nothing was mentioned when the party arrived on the mainland.

“The night, they called and said someone almost drowned. I said ‘nobody was drowning, nobody screamed they needed help or shouted’. When I asked, other parents, they said the student went down and came up.

“It was explained like when you are on the beach and like you went down and come up … so if you see that, it would not occur to you that someone was in distress because there was no shouting, no screaming, and nobody alerted me,” Dr. Marks said.

She noted that everyone at the scene knew that she is a doctor, while some people also know that she is a trained lifeguard and she was at the poolside.

“I know the signs of drowning because I have had to deal with drownings and patients who were saved by resuscitation.

“She (the student) went under and came up and held on to someone. She was not in any respiratory difficulty after the incident. She never reported to anyone that this happened, so it was a surprise when I heard how the incident was described,” said Dr. Marks.

The medical professional said the sister of the student went to the school days after and said her sister almost drowned.

“I said ‘I was present’ and I said ‘nothing happened of that sort, and if that was the case I would have assisted because I was there for all students not for my daughter alone’. I said, ‘this is not what happened’,” Dr Marks explained.

She said the relatives of the student were upset and went to Headmistress DeRoche-John and uttered words that she described as being a personal attack on the Headmistress before leaving the school compound.

“I heard them insulting the principal. I understand trauma and how psychologically you can feel fearful, but she was not under the water gulping or taking in water.

“Everyone might have a different approach but she (student) came out, had lunch and went back into the pool … if that happened and she was in so much distress, she could have said something. Nothing was mentioned, there was no alarm raised,” Dr. Marks stressed.

Commenting on the field trip, a source close to the GHS said that all protocols as it relates to field trips were followed.

There were 40 adults (17 parents, 23 teachers) and 128 students, and the required ratio put in place by the Ministry of Education (MOE) is one adult to 15 children. All students had to submit a consent form signed by their parent/s and there were 14 open- back taxis and a bus hired to transport the students. There was no alcohol, and the dress code was adhered to. There was a doctor present and a lifeguard, as well as competent swimmers.

A teacher at the GHS told SEARCHLIGHT that the mother of the child has had other run-ins with other Headmistresses at the GHS and was even banned from the compound by a former Headmistress.

“Based on interactions with her over the years, she is an irate parent. It seems as if she is always looking for confusion and making jabs at the school. It’s never about a reasonable discussion with her,” the teacher said.

It was also noted that when the parent called the Headmistress to report the incident, she was asked to call back in five minutes as the Headmistress was dealing with an incident with her son, but the mother never called back.

“Nobody is victim-shaming anyone,” a teacher noted.