A KEARSNEY College parent filed an urgent application in the High Court in Durban on Friday, 13 March to have his son, who was expelled just over a week ago, allowed back to school to attend academic lessons only.
The boy was tested positive for steroids in a routine test undertaken in November 2014.
According to Tania Broughton’s article in The Mercury dated 16 March 2015, Kearsney College headmaster, Elwyn van den Aardweg, opposed the application, saying steroid use was ‘a form of cheating’ and that it was important to show a strong anti-drug stance.
She said Judge Anton van Zyl ordered that the pupil be allowed back on Monday, 16 March to attend academic lessons only, and only until the appeal against his expulsion was heard by the school’s appeals panel , to take place within two weeks.
It is believed the pupil, who has been a boarder at the school since Grade 8, tested positive for the steroid called Sustanon, which cannot be legally obtained in South Africa at all, and faced a disciplinary hearing.
Broughton reported that at the hearing the boy was deemed ‘a second offender’, because two years ago he had been disciplined for smoking dagga while on a leadership course. To that offence he pleaded guilty and received a suspension. He was required to undergo drug tests, and warned that if he was caught again he could be expelled.
Broughton also reported that in the affidavit, the father said his son was charged with serious misconduct after the steroid test. He said he had only taken the steroids for two weeks, which was given to him by another pupil. He also argued that his son was missing lessons but had a right to be educated.
At the time of going to court on Friday the formal appeal had not yet been lodged, and the court order granted on Friday required that the appeal be lodged on or before Tuesday, 17 March, failing which the court order would lapse. Kearsney has refrained from commenting on the particulars of this matter until the appeal to the sanction has been dealt with.
However, Van den Aardweg said steroid use is a major offence. He said people take it to look good and to improve performance. Apart from being a serious health risk, it is a form of cheating and damages the reputation of the school.
He added that Kearsney College has a clear stance on the use of drugs, steroids and prohibited substances: “Kearsney was one of the first schools in South Africa to sign and implement the South African Institute of Drug-free Sport’s protocol,” said Van den Aardweg.
