Grieving pupils at a primary school in east London are “struggling to cope” after one of their brightest and best-loved classmates was killed over the weekend in an incident being linked to pest control chemicals found in the flats where she lived. Rena Begum, the headteacher of Buttercup primary in Shadwell, said the school was in “great shock” after the death of 11-year-old Fatiha Sabrin in Saturday’s incident. The Metropolitan police were treating her death as unexplained before further tests and a postmortem could be carried out. In a statement it said: “A sweep of the building was carried out by the London fire brigade and a quantity of chemicals – believed to be used for pest control – were discovered. They will be safely removed and an investigation will be carried out to determine how they came to be in the building.” Begum said Fatiha was a school “role model”, who planned to become a doctor and whose written work had just been selected for a national award. After announcing Fatiha’s death to her classmates on Monday, Begum said: “The children are struggling to cope. It is a real shock to them at their young age that suddenly someone is not there. It took them half an hour to take it in, and then everybody started crying and there were tissues everywhere.” Fatiha’s mother, Kanji Fatema, was recovering in hospital after also inhaling toxic fumes at the flat at Nida House in Shadwell. Her seven-year-old brother was back at school after being discharged from hospital. Begum said: “A family friend went to the flat and found two bodies unresponsive. I got a call on the school emergency mobile, was told they were taken to hospital and that Fatiha had been pronounced dead and that the block had been evacuated.” The children’s father was reported to be flying back from Bangladesh, while emergency accommodation was being found for the family. Begum said: “We are doing our best to support the family” and described Fatiha as an “amazing student”. She said: “Every week when someone gets a gold award or star of the week, we write their name down. Her name is still there on the wall. “She was a brilliant writer, and we hope a book will be published soon including her short stories. She just got selected for a national literacy award for young writers.” Begum added: “She had strong dreams of wanting to help the community and becoming a medical professional. Her friends are devastated by her empty seat in class. There was a lot of confusion and tears, it was important for them to just let it out. We are giving them bereavement counselling. “She was a very popular member of the class and always willing to help others when they didn’t understand something. She was one of those students who never had to come to the headteacher’s office. She was a happy and bubbly person.” Fatiha’s class had been due to visit the Imperial War Museum on Monday as part of a project about the first world war. Begum said Fatiha’s family encouraged her to excel. She said: “They are a very supportive family and very ambitious for her. She just did an 11-plus exam to enter a grammar school and not many do that. She knew what she wanted to do in life and her family wanted the best for both of their children.”