A pupil at Diocesan College (Bishops) in Cape Town spent 48 hours in hospital after he was assaulted, allegedly by fellow pupils.
The incident, the latest in a long list of controversies at the school, took place last week at its Founders House.
Disciplinary enquiry
Principal Tony Reeler, in a communique to parents on Wednesday, confirmed that a disciplinary enquiry has since been concluded into the “shocking late-night assault” which left the victim in hospital for two days.
As many as seven pupils have been charged, he said in the message to parents.
Several insiders have independently confirmed to The South African website that the act was committed by a group of five boys under the instruction of two matric pupils.
“The pupils have five days to appeal any sanctions handed down as part of the disciplinary process, and Bishops is unable to comment further on the disciplinary proceedings out of respect for the ongoing legal process and a desire not to prejudice this process in any way,” a statement confirmed.
Parents of pupils at the private school in Rondebosch expressed concern that the assault – as well as the lack of communication from the school – would be “kept under wraps” to protect Bishops’ reputation.
Code of conduct
Reeler in his communique to parents said the seven pupils were charged with breaching the school’s code of conduct.
He added that the unnamed victim has been discharged from hospital and is, according to their understanding, “well on the way to a full recovery”.
“Such is the seriousness of this incident, however, that we can confirm that the independent advocate chairing the disciplinary process has recommended the strongest possible sanctions for those found guilty,” he said.
“In terms of our disciplinary processes, the boys have five days to appeal these findings. I do not want to prejudice this process in any way by commenting further on details of the assault or the ongoing appeals process, suffice to say that any form of bullying or physical violence has absolutely no place at Bishops and the conduct of the perpetrators here is condemned in the strongest possible terms, no matter what their role of their intention.”
“Our code of conduct and anti-bullying policy both have clear expectations of our boys and we have a zero-tolerance stance towards any behaviour of this kind,” a statement read.
“Physical and emotional abuse has no place in our school, our boarding houses, or in society in general, and this safeguarding message has been shared countless times with the students and staff of Bishops – which makes this shocking violation of the trust placed in senior pupils in particular, so difficult to understand and process.”
Bishops will reportedly introduce additional security measures in each boarding house to improve safeguarding with immediate effect, it said.
In addition, it would be initiating an independent review of “boarding practices and procedures” within the next 30 days.
A little too late?
More controversy
In other controversial instances in recent times, a Bishops parent was caught on video slapping a SACS rugby player following a First XV match last season at the Piley Rees field.
Bishops promised an investigation into the incident.
A recent Bishops-Rondebosch rugby match led to ‘jeering, hissing, genital grabbing and punches thrown by both sides’.
Meanwhile, a former Bishops learner has also been in the news lately after he was sued for an assault in February 2018 – while still a pupil.
According to reports, Bingo Ivanisevic assaulted Rondebosch’s Ross Stone during a water polo match.
Finally, late last month a parent at Bishops raised ‘strong concerns’ about a recent (at the time) incident of alleged bullying at one of the school’s boarding houses (White House).
The unnamed parent sent the allegations to a media house, which in turn approached Bishops for comment.
The parent, for reasons unknown, then retracted the statement.
Bishops didn’t however dispute that an incident had taken place, writing in a message to parents: ‘When we became aware of an incident of alleged bullying earlier this week, we immediately engaged with the parents of all the Grade 8 students at the boarding house concerned.’
Coincidentally, Bishops was this week, as reported by The South African website, named one of the top 150 private schools in the world.
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