A PRESTIGIOUS high school in Stellenbosch has been accused of inadequately dealing with bullying, say frustrated parents.
A 14 year-old pupil has undergone facial reconstruction surgery this week after a brutal attack by a fellow pupil at Paul Roos Gymnasium High School, in Stellenbosch.
The attack, which took place on October 28, has left the Grade 8 victim and his family traumatised. His jaw and nose have been broken, his left eye socket and cheekbone have been crushed during the attack.
The victim is recovering from facial reconstruction surgery after the brutal attack by a fellow Grade 8 pupil on October 28 who has since been suspended.
Weekend Argus has learnt of another incident that took place at the school in August last year and the pupil, in matric, was still bullied and harassed. The trauma suffered by the matric was so severe that he withdrew from all forms of sports and did not attend his matric farewell and Grade 12 valedictory.
According to a source who did not want to be named, the pupil who was in Grade 11 at the time, was assaulted when he tried to break up a fight between other boys.
Video footage of the assault that went viral showed how the pupil was physically assaulted by three boys.
In July, the victim was allegedly verbally bullied in the classroom.
“There appears to be a trend of bullying and violent assaults at the school. Some parents are dissatisfied with how the school handles incidents at the school and believe that bullies are protected,” the source said, adding that the incident was taken to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The perpetrators were later suspended for about a week.
The source said the parents of the victim were invited by the school to a disciplinary hearing but on the eve of the hearing the process was changed to a “mediation” at the discretion of the school governing body (SGB).
“In their view this was not seen as a serious incident but the parents co-operated. The perpetrators were not allowed to wear ties and blazers for a week and they had to stand in a quad as a form of punishment. They were also suspended from sport activities – but this was during the Covid-19 pandemic when sports was not even allowed to take place,” the source said.
He said parents of victims feared that incidents were not handled properly and bullies were being protected to allegedly uphold the reputation of the school, known for its sports and academic performance.
“Today the incidents are characterised by fist fights, tomorrow it might be a knife or a gun. Victims do not feel safe in the school,” the source said.
Following the 2020 incident, a criminal case was laid against the boys and the matter was heard in court. The perpetrators were sentenced to community work.
However, the threats and “bullying” did not stop after the mediation process, and in July, the Weekend Argus learnt that one of the perpetrators allegedly swore at the victim in the classroom, allegedly “in full view of other pupils and the teacher”.
School principal, André van Staden, denied the allegations and referred to the response which would be issued by the Western Cape Department of Education.
Little data exists on the prevalence of bullying at South African schools, there are concerns of its psychological impact.
Dr Zuhayr Kafaar from the University of Stellenbosch who conducted a study into the frequency and predictors of poly-victimisation of South African children and the role of schools in its prevention, said trauma experienced by victims was likely to have a long-lasting effect if not resolved adequately.
“The biggest concern is that in a study done in 2007, half of the participants who self identified as having been victims in more than one sphere of their lives, were found to bully others at school and the cycle continued,” Kafaar said.
He also warned that if the trauma was not dealt with it might even lead to mental illness in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“That’s why its important to have adequate debriefing and counselling,” Kafaar said.
He said mental health issues arising from trauma also had the potential to undermine the learner’s ability to fulfil their academic potential.
Victims might also be seen as a “soft target” and be subjected to continuous bullying, Kafaar said.
“It creates vulnerability across many contexts and it seems that if children are bullied at school they might find themselves caught up in other forms of victimisation years after the incident,” he said.
Kafaar said adolescents were going through tumultuous times in their lives and often were thrust in groups and if they did not belong to an “inside group” were mistreated and psychologically excluded.
The provincial department of education said it had supported the Paul Roos school “previously” and believed that “no further investigation was required”.
Spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the school welcomed support to deal with any issue of bullying, “which unfortunately is a sad reality in many schools across the province, and in the county”.
She said the department also offered counselling to the pupils involved in the incident and engaged with the school management on interventions.
Hammond said school governing bodies were responsible for disciplinary matters in terms of their code of conduct.
“They have policies and procedures in place to deal with instances of bullying. Each case is different, and sanctions may differ. Not all bullying cases in school result in expulsion. In many cases, mediation is used as a tool, together with psycho-social support, to resolve the matter. In some cases, anger management programmes are required,” she said.
Hammond said while schools had a part to play in ensuring a peaceful and stable environment, the attitudes and values of pupils were also influenced by the behaviours taught at home or in their community.
“We therefore all have a role to play,” she said.
The NPA confirmed that it received a request to intervene in the incident in August last year.
Spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said only two of the three accused were eventually charged. “They admitted guilt and the matter against them was diverted. The issue was resolved after a meeting with the parent.”