Update: School provides insight into serious assault allegation

A Ferrum High learner is being investigated for attempted murder following the brutal assault of a schoolmate in the boys’ toilet.

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The incident took place on Wednesday, May 15, around 10.30am during the school’s tea break.

The 17-year old victim was admitted to hospital due to the severity of the seizures he has suffered following the assault.

A Newcastle neurologist has since transferred him to a specialist facility in Johannesburg for treatment.

According to an official police report, the victim was ‘summoned’ by the alleged assailant, and when he refused to go, four of the assailant’s friends forced the victim to the boys’ toilets where they held him down while the assailant punched him repeatedly in the head and face, bust both his lips open, and banged his head against the wall.

Witnesses observed that the victim’s shirt was covered in blood, his lips were bust open and he had a lump on the back on his head when he returned to class.

The victim’s family declined to comment, however, sources close to the family say the incident has not only left him physically battered and bruised but emotionally scarred as well.

In a media statement issued by Ferrum last Wednesday, May 22, chairman of the Student Governing Body (SGB), André Groenwald, confirmed that there was a physical altercation between two boys and that one of the boys was suspended from school.

Groenewald stated that the school is compiling statements and gathering evidence from all the learners involved and witnesses.

“Once the investigation is concluded, and if there is prima facie evidence that the learner has breached the school’s code of conduct, the school will go ahead with a disciplinary hearing to determine the learner’s guilt. If he is indeed found guilty, then the disciplinary committee will decide on an appropriate punishment,” he said.

Responding to a media enquiry from the Northern Natal News, Groenwald indicated that the school has a functional CCTV camera system to monitor and record all activities.

This is one of the measures the school has in place to safeguard its learners.

Video footage shows the two learners walked into the bathroom, the one after the other.

“The one learner was, therefore, not carried into the bathroom as was erroneously reported by another publication,” Groenewald pointed out.

A rumour that the victim of the assault is in a coma also proved to be untrue.

“There were a number of boys entering and exiting the bathroom at the time as it was break,” Groenewald continued, relating what he observed in the video footage. “Shortly after the two learners in question entered the bathroom, the prefect on duty outside the bathroom also enters the bathroom. The prefect exited the bathroom and is seen talking to the teacher on duty and the school’s disciplinary officer. The teacher on duty and the disciplinary officer then entered the bathroom, together with the prefect. The two learners involved in the altercation, thereafter exited the bathroom together with the disciplinary officer.”

According to Groenewald, the two learners were then escorted to the main admin building where they were interviewed by the grade heads as well as the disciplinary officer.

They were each required to write a report on the incident before returning to class.

Their parents were contacted telephonically and informed of the altercation.

Two days later, May 17, the victim’s father reported to the school that he took his son to the hospital as he was feeling unwell and experiencing seizures.

Groenewald said the grade head was in touch with the victim’s parents to check on his well-being.

Besides CCTV surveillance, Ferrum monitors and enforces discipline by allocating educators to ‘ground duty’ before and after school as well as during the breaks, posting prefects at the toilets during breaks, appointing a disciplinary officer who handles situations as they arise, and distributing the school’s code of conduct to learners at the start of each academic year.

“The register teachers spend time going through the code of conduct which clearly prohibits any physical altercations,” said Groenewald.

Nonetheless, Groenewald conceded that the school and the SGB cannot justify or excuse the actions of ‘any school boy’ nor dismiss the incident by simply saying that ‘boys will be boys’.

“We recognise that any altercation between learners may potentially have disastrous consequences. Parents entrust their children to teachers and expect their children to be safe at school. We take the duty of care imposed on us to heart and we try to live up to it to the best of our ability. However, only a foolish governing body can promise, ‘…never again’. While we will never condone any violence, we must be pragmatic and accept that we have a school attended by almost 500 teenage boys. It is inevitable that once every couple of years there may be an instance of conflict among the boys,” stated Groenewald.

He continued, “We are extremely grateful that an incident such as this is a very rare occurrence at Ferrum. To my knowledge, this is only the second incident of this nature in more than a decade that I have been actively involved in the school. We will continue to do our utmost best to prevent a repeat of the situation by exercising vigilance, enforcing our code of conduct and applying our disciplinary system. Even one instance of violence is one too many. When an incident like this occurs, we will always act promptly in a suitable manner.”

“Our thoughts go out to the injured learner and to both the parents of the injured learner as well as the parents of the suspended learner during this taxing time,” Groenewald concluded.

DA member of the provincial legislature in the Education Portfolio, Dr Imran Keeka, commented that school safety requires a ‘whole-of-society approach’, which involves parents, those providing transport to learners, learners, teachers, SAPS, Community Policing Forum’s, Non-Government Organisation’s and even places of worship.

“Everyone has a part to play to make sure children are safe at school. Often, people have information that can either prevent harm to a child or save a pupil’s life. Working together is not only good for our children inside and outside of school, but for our neighbourhoods and communities too. We must all play our part. One learner harmed is one too many and our pro-activeness must be a priority,” said Keeka.

“My thoughts and prayers are indeed with the parents during this difficult time.  I pray for the young man’s complete and speedy recovery. As a parent, I can only imagine their anguish at present.  I am also hopeful that SAPS will ensure a thorough investigation.”

The news provided to you in this link has been investigated and compiled by the editorial staff of the Newcastle Advertiser, a sold newspaper distributed in the Newcastle area. Please follow us on Youtube and feel free to like, comment, and subscribe. For more local news, visit our webpage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and request an add on our WhatsApp (082 874 5550).