Family tells of daughter’s dream to study medicine and the furore over campus drug use that followed her death at Newcastle University
When Nicola and Stefan Sillifant dropped their 18-year-old daughter off at Newcastle University two months ago, they were bursting with pride to see her dreams to study medicine materialise. On Friday 2 October, alongside Stephanie, they bundled into the car – along with bedding, kitchen utensils and decorations – to make the two-and-a-half hour trip up from Nottinghamshire.
That night, the couple stayed in a hotel close to the Park View student halls where Stephanie would be living, ready to bring back a big food shop in the morning. As they parted ways on Saturday “there were a few tears”, said Nicola. “We just gave her a pep talk that she was to go and be remarkable like we knew that she would be.”
