A TAUNTON college apologised after the parents of a student were sent a condolence letter about the death of their daughter in January 2011 – even though she was alive and well.

To quote the old saying, rumours of student Katherine Langford’s death were premature – but her parents were still upset to receive the letter.

Due to a mistake by a member of staff at Somerset College, Student Finance, the organisation which funds higher education, was incorrectly informed Katherine had died.

And to make things worse, the Wellington Road college also incorrectly reported that she had quit her course last March, although she actually went on to complete the first year in June.

“My parents were shocked and appalled to receive the letter telling them I was dead,” said Katherine.

“And as if that was not enough, Student Finance also requested more than £800 back because they thought I’d left the course early.

“I’m extremely annoyed by the mistake and the way we’ve been treated by Somerset College.”

A college spokeswoman said the letter of condolence was due to “human error” after a member of staff mistakenly ticked the wrong box on a drop down menu in a computer program.

She added: “The college apologised profusely at the time to the student and family and also asked the external funding organisation to alter the system to prevent such an error occurring again.”

Katherine and five other students who completed the first year of an applied psychology degree the previous summer also criticised Somerset College for the way they ran the course.