Joburg private school rocked by allegations of racism

“You don’t belong in the school, go home, you (K-word).”

This is what a grade 12 De La Salle Holy Cross College pupil says she was told by a white pupil who kept taunting her in class in the presence of a teacher when she was in grade 8.

She is one of more than 50 current and former pupils who have accused the Joburg private Catholic school of institutional racism.

The pupil said nothing was ever done about the racial slur and that she was told to apologise to the boy when she retaliated.

“I lashed out in class and everyone remained silent and watched while I got called outside by the teacher and was told to apologise to the boy. He was told to apologise, too, but the issue at hand, which was the blatant racist bullying, was never addressed and the boy was never punished,” she said.

The allegations came to light when former and current pupils took to social media to complain about the school. On Friday, they took part in a Zoom meeting to discuss what they termed current and historical racism at the school.

The Victory Park school, where fees start at R78,000 a year for grade RR and R131,000 for grade 12, said it was aware of the allegations levelled against it and was looking into them.

“De La Salle Holy Cross College is aware of recent discussions on social media regarding allegations of racism and discrimination within our community,” said the school’s communication officer Janine Hills.

“We take such matters with the utmost seriousness. We are conducting a thorough review of these allegations.”

During the Zoom meeting, another current pupil also shared her story.

“When I was in junior school, I heard a boy a few grades above me call his only black friend the K-word on two separate occasions,” she said. “I reported it to the break-duty teacher both times. He never faced disciplinary action; the most he got was probably a ‘stern’ talking to. His mom was a teacher at the school too.”

In 2022 a new visual arts teacher repeatedly used the N-word during a class after it was played in a song, said another pupil.

“She said the N-word over 10 times in one moment. The class went silent in shock. Even the white kids ducked under the desks. She eventually resigned, but the school’s response was to have a black man talk to us about forgiveness and Catholic values. It felt like they were just trying to cover it up.”

Nelisiwe Tshatedi, a former pupil who created an Instagram page in 2020 for past and present pupils to discuss racism at the school, said she recalled an incident where white rugby schoolboys openly mocked a black student.

“They were taking towels, wetting them and whipping him and calling him a slave and the N-word and K-word in front of everyone. Teachers were there witnessing it, and no-one batted an eye,” she said.

“When we went to their coach, who was also the vice-principal at the time, he made an excuse and said, ‘Boys will be boys’. They were just laughing. You could see in this black boy’s face, he was not happy. He was the butt of the joke.”

Tshatedi said at the time, she struggled to push back against the system.

“I must admit that in my time at the school, I wasn’t as strong. I didn’t feel like I could go up against the system. So I certainly have to give props to this year’s pupils. They are emailing the school to tell them, ‘I’m giving you warnings, I’m going to file a human rights complaint’ – things like that I never had the courage to do,” she said.

A parent of a pupil at the school said she was deeply disappointed by the response issued to all parents regarding the social media account where pupils are venting their frustrations.

“The message essentially asks students and families to stop sharing their stories publicly and instead approach an all-white senior management team behind closed doors. This is not only incredibly short-sighted – it’s profoundly tone-deaf, ” she said.

A current pupil and netball player said she lodged a complaint against the school with the SA Human Rights Commission in 2025.

She said she was later denied her sports colours without explanation. “I asked one of my coaches why. He told me, ‘They’re just not giving it to you. No reason’. That same coach was warned not to talk to me about it again.”

The commission’s Zamantungwa Mbeki confirmed that the body had received a complaint about the school.

Hills said the allegations of racism were taken very seriously.

She said in 2020, the school hired Mandatemolefi,  a diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy, to guide them on a comprehensive review of its policies to ensure meaningful change.

“While we acknowledge the role of social media in raising awareness, anonymous claims limit our ability to engage constructively or take actionable steps. Even today, the door remains open for students to engage,” she said.

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