Highgate School holds funeral for biology department skeleton

Times

4 hours ago

A prestigious private school has buried the 200-year-old skeleton of a 'non-European' woman that it had kept in its biology department, prompting calls for reforms over the ownership of human remains.The woman, who was likely aged between 20 and 45 and from India, was buried in a private funeral service last week by Highgate School in London.A small wooden coffin was carried into the school's grounds in a procession led by the headmaster Adam Pettitt.
The school, which charges up to £10,525 per term, said that no relatives could be contacted as there were no records of who the woman was or how her skeleton came into the school's possession.
Highgate School was founded in 1565
YUI MOK/PA
Highgate School, which is not accused of any wrongdoing, was reported to have spent three years negotiating with the relevant authorities before the funeral could take place.
Alumni include Phil Tufnell, the English bowler, and Tom Hooper, the Academy award-winning director of The King's Speech and Les Misérables, while notable members of staff include TS Eliot, the Nobel prize-winning poet and literary critic, and Adrian Berg, the landscape painter.
The ceremony led to calls for reforms over the ownership and display of human remains. Recent changes have prevented the public display of 'relevant material' from a deceased person, leading some schools to put skeletons in storage. Some skeletons may be exempt if they are more than 100 years old and not for used for purposes such as public display.
Dan Hicks, a professor of contemporary archaeology at the University of Oxford, applauded the school for looking into the provenance of the skeleton.
'This is an interesting case that shines a light on something that runs far deeper into British culture than we would like to think. There's no regulation at the moment over the holding of human remains in our institutions,' he said.
The procession was led by priests and Adam Pettitt, the headmaster
'If you find a human skull or skeleton under somebody's desk in a school or a university or an infirmary, or a hospital, there is no regulation unless they are from these more recent times,' he added. 'At the moment, it's a free-for-all all and it's still legal to buy and sell human remains in this country'.Corrine Fowler, a professor of postcolonial literature at the University of Leicester, said that if the ancestors can be traced, 'these unloved remains should be returned to those who will cherish them'. 'Schools and museums need clear guidance to help them address this matter. Any reforms must allow consideration on a case-by-case basis, emphasise close collaboration with source communities and ensure that, where appropriate, remains are repatriated and lovingly laid to rest,' she said.
Lord Boateng, a former home office minister, told the Camden New Journal that he had called for a total stop to the trade of human remains as 'objects of curiosity'. 'The law and practical guidance in relation to the trade and retention of human remains is either non-existent or outdated and in urgent need of clarification and reform. The days in which the people of other lands and with different coloured skins were felt to be less important in terms of human decency, even in death must surely be at an end,' he said.'Action from government is needed now to draw a line under what amounts to a shaming example of historic neglect of human decency affecting our relationship with the peoples of so many lands beyond these shores.'A spokesman for Highgate School said: 'The skeleton has been in our biology department for some time, but there are no available local or archive records to clarify the origin of the skeleton or their next of kin.'We have followed national guidance by consulting with the local authority, London Diocesan Registrar and other local representatives and have received a formal burial notice.'In order to ensure we treat the deceased with dignity and respect, we invited representatives of different faiths to the interment. We received a cor­oner's order for burial from North London coroner service, signed on May 2 2025.'
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport did not respond to a request for comment.