Heartbreaking scenes as Emmanuel College, Carrara, gathers to remember slain student Sophie Wang

The principal of a Queensland school attended by a girl allegedly murdered by her mother says it’s “natural and normal” for members of the school community to ask themselves, “could I have done more” to help her.

Students, parents and staff of the Gold Coast’s Emmanuel College in Carrara have gathered on Friday morning to remember and pay tribute to 10-year-old Sophie Wang, who died in her home near the school on Tuesday afternoon.

She was allegedly killed by having her throat slashed in circumstances one detective described as “extremely distressing” and “one of the most confronting scenes I have seen”.

Principal Dan Brown said Sophie will be remembered as an “intelligent, thoughtful girl who loved her academics”.

“I knew Sophie as a student and I had interactions with her,” he said.

“She was a very bright young lady. She loved reading — she was a great reader.

“She was a great friend. She was known as being compassionate and caring. She loved music.

“Those memories will live on.”

Brown said while the gathering was “tough, it’s something we needed to do” to “express our condolences but also give thanks for Sophie, to be together and to pray and give our best wishes to the family”.

He said the school had been in contact with Sophie’s family, but declined to provide further information.

He thanked the wider Australian public for their condolences, saying he was also “really grateful (for) and proud” of members of the school community for the support they had given each other.

The principal reiterated that the school had ramped up its availability of support services for the school community, including those who may be asking themselves how they could have helped Sophie.

“Those questions are really normal in these situations. They want to know, could I have done more? Could we have helped? That’s a natural and normal response,” Brown said.

“Our school is a safe place and we have lots of people they can turn to for help.

“My feelings are complete devastation. As a principal, there’s nothing harder to deal with than the loss of a student, but particularly around the tragic circumstances of this particular loss.

“I’m human, too. It hits me hard.”

A permanent memorial for Sophie will be considered at a later date, Brown said.

A candlelight vigil set to be attended by members of the wider public will be held in Carrara on Friday afternoon.

Yingying Xu, 45, remains behind bars after having her charge of murder mentioned in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.