 Solution

Use the standard invariant tabloid bilinear form, with the tabloid basis orthonormal. Each permutation acts by an orthogonal matrix, so $⟨gx,y⟩=⟨x,g^{-1}y⟩$. Inversion permutes $C_t$ and preserves its signs. ThereforeThe James submodule theorem states that for any submodule $U\le M^{\lambda }$, either $S^{\lambda }\subseteq U$ or $U\subseteq (S^{\lambda }{)}^{\perp }$. Use the allowed fact ${\kappa }_t{M}^{\lambda }=F{e}_t$. The coefficient of $\{t\}$ in $e_t$ is one, so the displayed adjoint identity gives ${\kappa }_{t}x=⟨x,e_t⟩e_t$. If $U$ is not orthogonal to $S^{\lambda }$, some $x\in U$ and some tableau $t$ have $⟨x,e_t⟩\ne 0$. Hence $e_t\in U$, and its permutation translates span $S^{\lambda }$. This proves the theorem.

Let $R=S^{\lambda }\cap (S^{\lambda }{)}^{\perp }$. Every proper submodule of $S^{\lambda }$ lies in $R$ by the theorem. If the restricted form is nonzero, $R$ is proper, hence is the unique maximal submodule andIn the stronger nondegenerate case specified in the question, $R=0$, so $S^{\lambda }$ itself is simple. The nonzero-form version also covers the possibly degenerate case needed in the final calculation.

For shape $(n-1,1)$, identify $M$ with $F^n$ with basis $v_1,\dots ,v_n$. Its Specht module is the augmentation subspace $S=\{\sum a_i{v}_i:\sum a_i=0\}$, spanned freely by $v_i-v_n$, $1\le i<n$. Its Gram matrix is $G=I_{n-1}+J_{n-1}$, with diagonal entries two and off-diagonal entries one. Equivalently, $S^{\perp }$ in $M$ is the span of $v_1+\cdots +v_n$. This vector belongs to $S$ exactly when $p\mid n$. Thus the restricted radical has dimension one if $p\mid n$ and zero otherwise, givingFor $n\ge 3$ this quotient is nonzero and simple by the theorem. In the small exceptional case $n=2,p=2$, the canonical radical quotient is zero, as the same dimension formula states; it is then not a nonzero simple module. This qualification distinguishes the numerical formula from the nonzero-form hypothesis.