Smiling among her friends aged 11, schoolgirl Lucy Letby – who would grow up to be Britain’s most prolific and sadistic child killer

Radiant in her uniform and with her blonde hair neatly combed, an inconspicuous student poses for her official school photo.

But that seemingly ordinary schoolgirl was Lucy Letby, who grew up to be the neonatal nurse who was handed down 14 life sentences this week – for being Britain’s worst ever child killer.

The shot was taken in 2001, which means she’s only 11 years old and in her early years of high school. Classmates at Aylestone High, her local school, have said that nothing led them to believe she would commit such heinous crimes.

A shocked former student, who asked not to be named, related how Letby was “part of the geeky crowd, a very quiet, closed group,” adding: “I never would have guessed that anyone in my form in school could commit such crimes. ‘

However, there was “just an element of strangeness about her,” they admitted.

“When you get to high school, you talk to most people, even if you don’t become friends. But I don’t remember ever having a conversation with her.’

‘Nothing stands out. Vanilla is a good description.’

What prompted Letby, 33, to kill seven babies and harm six others during a year-long stay at the Countess of Chester Hospital remains a mystery.

The police describe her as “beige” because of her seemingly low profile life: she was a simple, single woman who lived alone in a suburban area and liked to go to salsa lessons with friends.

Born the only child of retail boss John, 77, and his wife, Susan, 63, who was a bookkeeper, she grew up in a 1930s semi-detached house in a quiet cul-de-sac in the cathedral city of Hereford.

Another former classmate said, “It’s just hard to even understand what went wrong.”

They also claimed that Letby’s parents had self-isolated since their daughter’s arrest, adding, “I think he (Lucy’s father) and the mother are struggling to understand all this.”