Discipline and learning collapse at Wordsworth High School

From the outside, the view is inspiring – pupils glowingly dressed in fine-looking uniforms against the background of picturesque, manicured green lawns and gardens.

But the level of dysfunction inside what was once a prestigious institution makes a baffling contrast at Benoni’s Wordsworth High School.

That’s at least if a less than hands-on principal, regular dagga smoking, hasty suspension of pupils, bullying and unattended cases of sexual harassment is anything to go by.

Once a top school, Wordsworth High now faces chaos

Going for months without subject teachers and being locked out of school for not wearing a tie have been among the problems encountered by pupils at Wordsworth.

With a proud history of having produced a 100% matric pass rate in recent years – and being an alma mater to many business and arts trailblazers who include world-renowned singer Lira – Wordsworth is this year expected to merely scrape by with a 40% pass rate.

According to teachers and pupils speaking on condition of anonymity, so deep is the crisis at the school, that “a radical leadership shift is the only alternative to change the status quo”.

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Principal Anna Sematle would not respond to questions challenging her leadership ability – merely being bullish about the school this year achieving a “100% matric pass rate, because we have done a lot of preparation”.

Alerted about the Wordsworth situation, the Gauteng department of education has promised to investigate, without commenting on the crisis faced by the school.

“Standards have declined since Sematle took over and teachers’ morale has gone down,” said one teacher.

Children’s futures destroyed by lack of leadership

“People come in, do what they can and leave. The children’s future has been destroyed due to the principal’s lack of leadership.

“If you look at the manner in which those in Grade 8 behave, there is nothing that can be termed ‘Wordsworthian’.

“I do not know what we are raising as a nation because the Grade 8s are just something else, due to an environment they find themselves in.”

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Among other challenges, teachers employed by the school governing body are “never paid on time”.

“Unlike all other state-employed teachers, they do not have a yearly increment, with their 13th cheque coming to peanuts. It is just a pity that they have nowhere to go and you can imagine how they feel.”

A Grade 9 pupil said she would “not recommend any parent to bring any child to this school”.

SGB-employed teachers ‘never paid on time’

“They should just change the principal who does not know where she stands on issues affecting the school,” she said.

With the school administering lockouts daily and arbitrarily suspending pupils for up to five days, pupils say they have missed out “on important class work”.

“This year, we were locked outside the school gates and my mother reported the matter to the department of education,” one pupil said.

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“We were locked out of school on Tuesday, and three times in the last term because we wore winter uniforms due to cold weather.”

“Winter uniform constitutes trousers, a jersey, blazer and a tie. Every morning you see about 50 kids standing outside the school premises, locked out because of not having a tie or a blazer.

“The school leadership seem to forget that some parents are unemployed; some are single parents.

School not considering parents’ financial situations

“They do not consider other people’s financial situations.” Week-long suspensions are also common.

“Instead of your parents being contacted to find a solution, for the whole week you are not at school,” said another pupil.

Bullying and sexual harassment by classmates are also rife.

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“Last year, I reported a case of bullying by a classmate and another took place in February, without anything being done,” a pupil said.

“After I told of the bullying, the teacher did not take it seriously and my mum reported the matter to the department of education.

“The teacher was given a written warning by the department, later threatening me that the school would not be in the mess it was in, if it was not for my reporting it.”

Pupils bunking class and smoking dagga

Pupils said frustration with school management drove some to “bunking class and smoking dagga”.

“Not all of us come from the same background,” one pupil said.

“Some kids come from broken families – smoking is due to what is happening at home. Sending a pupil back home to experience similar problems can only serve to compound issues.

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“The school does not have therapists to talk to and you are just suspended.”

No sporting activity takes place at the school.

“The school has scrapped sports – making it easier for pupils to be involved in smoking and other drug-related practices,” said one pupil.

No sports

“While we are promised sports tournaments, the principal does not pay for transport.

“There is nothing going right at the school.

“Since [the principal] got here, the pass rate has been going down. She lacks leadership skills.”