The hearts of parents throughout the country will be with the Frewers after the loss of their son today. The precise circumstances are not known but it is unimaginable for any parent to conceive that an end-of-term holiday with school friends on the north Cornish coast could put a child at risk of death.

This tragic incident has highlighted the parental dilemma of how to allow children to celebrate safely end of exams and the school year.

George was one of hundreds of pupils, mainly from independent schools, who flock to Rock and Polzeath when school is out. My own son, 16 and just finished GCSEs, wanted to be one of them and the heart-searching which went on in our family over the decision appeared in The Times last week. We did not wish him to miss out on the fun but decided that there had to be an adult on hand to rein in any excessive behaviour. My husband and I had to work and so the impasse was resolved by my elder son, now 21, who was persuaded to supervise the venture for his brother and a couple of friends.

This plan was foiled, however, when we looked up campsites on the internet. Understandably they insisted that the adult in charge of any under-18s had to ensure that youngsters were safe in their tents by 11.30pm to ensure other campers were not disturbed.

Even by the standards of our responsible elder son this was always going to be impossible to guarantee when late-night parties on the beach were a highlight of the scene.

Without an adult in charge the trip was off. How thankful I am.

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