Hoërskool Elspark and concerned parent speak out about bullying at the school

The community was shocked last Monday, when reports emerged that two students from Hoërskool Elspark were being savagely bullied.

The GCN was able to reach the children’s mother who explained that the bullying had been happening since June of this year.

“The school has done nothing to stop it,” she said.

“They blame the incidents on my children, I feel, in an attempt to cover up the situation.”

Though the mother has had concerns since the bullying started, it was a schoolground fight filmed on a cellphone that was the last straw for her.

The video showed her 15-year-old daughter being attacked by another girl.

The mother went on to explain that the video showed the aggressor approaching her daughter, poking her in the forehead and pushing her.

When her daughter tried to walk away, the girl smacked her on the back of the head, turned her around and began to punch her in the face, all while other pupils laughed and filmed the incident on their cellphones.

Shortly after this the mother received yet another video, this time of her son.

The significantly shorter clip first shows three boys waiting for their target, with one eventually pushed forward and walking up to her son and punching him.

The video also shows her son’s attempts to fight back, the mother said.

Having had enough of the abuse the mother told the GCN she has opened cases of assault with both the Elsburg SAPS and Boksburg SAPS.

She claims that officers at the Elsburg Police Station did not take her case seriously, thus prompting her to contact the press.

Lukas Groenewald, deputy principal at Hoërskool Elspark, spoke to a GCN journalist amidst the reports of bullying at the school.

“The school has followed up on every incident,” he said.

“With each case of bullying the school fills in an incident report, which is sent to the Department of Education.

“We send all matter we feel are of importance to the department.”

Groenewald went on to explain that the school tries to deal with incidents such as these internally, with the help of the children’s parents; it is as a last resort that the police would be asked to intervene.

Disciplinary hearings against the alleged bullies were set to begin on Monday (December 1).

The school felt that it was better to deal with the matter after the students had finished their exams

“The department strongly condemns any form of violence in schools, and cases reported are prioritised and swiftly dealt with,” said spokesman for the Department of Education Phumla Sekhonyane.

The GCN is continuing to follow up on the matter with the department, as well as the Elsburg SAPS, where it is reported that a case of assault was opened.

At the time of going to press no further comment had been received.

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