A head teacher and her seven-year-old daughter who were killed earlier this month will remain inseparable in death as they were in life, their family have said.

Emma Pattison and her daughter Lettie are believed to have been murdered by husband and father George Pattison, formerly of Kent, who is understood to have taken his own life shortly after.

The three were found dead at their home in the grounds of Epsom College in Surrey after Mrs Pattison, 45, made a distressed call to her sister.

Today relatives of Emma and Lettie released a tribute statement through Surrey Police, that said: "To see the esteem in which Emma is held by all who knew her is an enormous comfort.

"She was everything one could hope for in a daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend, teacher and so much more.

"We are an extremely close family and family was at the centre of Emma and Lettie’s universe.

"The Epsom College Community had become part of that universe for them both."

It was revealed last week that Mr Pattison attended Barton Court Grammar School, in Longport, between 1994 and 2001, with ex-classmates expressing their shock at what had happened.

His parents lived in Eythorne, near Dover, in the late 1990s, where they ran the Post Office, it has been reported.

One resident, who has lived in the village for almost 40 years, told the Daily Mail that George and his younger sister were “very pleasant” children.

The Pattisons later moved to Sandwich, where they are said to have set up their own travel agency.

They also lived in Deal, and a former neighbour there told the newspaper George was “rather shy” and “extremely polite”.

Detectives believe the 39-year-old accountant shot his wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself at their home in the grounds of £42,000-a-year independent secondary school.

The mother of one pupil has said “everyone is still in shock” following the horrific tragedy on February 5.

Tributes have poured in for Emma, who five months ago became the private school’s first female head teacher, after six years at Croydon High.

One former colleague described her as “adored” and a “real inspiration”.

The Pattisons had been married for 12 years and appeared to have a happy life together.

But it has since emerged Mr Pattison reported Emma, 45, to police in 2016 for allegedly hitting him. Emma was questioned by officers but no further action was taken.

At about midnight last Sunday, Emma made a distressed call to her sister, Deborah, who jumped in her car and drove to Surrey from London.

But when she arrived just after 1am she found the couple and their daughter dead.

It has also emerged Surrey Police made a routine phone call to George on Thursday, February 2, to check his shotgun was being stored correctly.

Detectives believe he used the same weapon just days later to kill his wife and child before using it to take his own life.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed it will not investigate Surrey Police over the contact its officers had with George regarding his firearms licence.

Speaking last week, Dr Alastair Wells, chairman of the board of governors at Epsom College, said: “On behalf of everyone here, I want to convey our utter shock and disbelief at this tragic news.

“Our immediate thoughts and condolences are with Emma’s family, friends and loved ones, and to the many pupils and colleagues whose lives she enriched throughout her distinguished career.

“She was a wonderful teacher, but most of all she was a delightful person.”

One of Mr Pattison's former Canterbury classmates told the Kentish Gazette last week: “Everyone who remembers him from Barton Court is shocked and sad.

“Our thoughts are with their loved ones.”

After leaving Barton Court, Mr Pattison studied at Durham University before training with Deloitte and was admitted as a chartered accountant in 2008.

The family of Emma and Lettie added: "We would like to express our deepest, heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming support we have received over the past 11 days.

"Lettie was Emma’s pride and joy: an adorable, vibrant little girl with a compelling curiosity, a heart-melting smile and an intellect beyond her years.

"The two of them were inseparable and we take comfort in that they will remain so.

"Emma had a warm, welcoming smile and sparkling, blue eyes, full of optimism.

"Over the last 11 days we’ve noticed the sky has been bright blue, with at times a warm glow of pink."