Famous Cape Town school at the center of race-related controversy on social media

Cape Town – A lofty Cape Town school is at the focal point of a fermenting race storm after a web-based entertainment account, probably having a place with a student at the school, started savaging dark understudies with racial slurs.

Slanderous posts on the virtual entertainment account claimed to be that of a student at Westerford Secondary School, in Rondebosch, have caused a clamor on the web.

The account has been the subject of an investigation by the school.

The Instagram account Grade8a_2023, with the name Grade8a, posts images of slaves, and some schoolchildren are tagged in the captions, which read: I tracked down your loved ones” went with a snickering emoticon.

There is likewise an image of a Khoisan individual joined by a subtitle distinguishing them as an instructor at the school.

A further picture of dark slaves tied at the hands and neck was subtitled: ” who wishes these black students could leave our classes and return to their homes?

Who is in charge of the social media page is not clear.

In a letter seen by IOL and presently moving on Twitter, Westerford Secondary School informed understudies, guardians and gatekeepers that it knew about the line of bigoted posts and had affirmed that the Instagram account was not an authority perceived Westerford page.

In the letter, it was stated that this incident had traumatized students, teachers, and parents.

The school administration and its governing body have been consulted.

Exams were moved to Monday and Tuesday by the school.

It required that all students in Grade 8 attend school on Thursday.

“All Grade 8 students are required to attend school tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. due to the posts, which appear to have originated within the Grade 8 group and have had a significant impact on the grade; They will meet in the Noel Taylor Hall to hear from school staff, in-house counselors, and outside counselors.

The letter stated, “They will be free to leave at the end of this session but are welcome to stay longer if they wish to receive further counseling.”

Sessions in the music auditorium were open to students from other grades, staff members, and parents who wanted counseling.

Bronagh Hammond of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) stated that the incident had been reported to the department and that an investigation was underway.

Hammond affirmed that the posts didn’t come from an authority school record and that the school had censured the remarks made.

“It is muddled in the event that the record was hacked or on the other hand assuming that it started from an understudy at the school.

“Students in the class have additionally addressed who had made the biased substance. The post was written by one person.

This morning (Thursday), the school held a meeting with Grade 8 students and offered counseling to those who required it.

“An additional session was held for parents and other students who desired additional information. Hammond stated, “The school will continue to provide counseling over the next few days.”

She stated that the social media page’s account holder was being identified.

The school would need to think about what it could do about the outsider who was responsible if the account was hacked. Discipline will be taken if there was a student involved.

According to Hammond, “the school does not tolerate any form of discrimination” and will “continue with disciplinary action in terms of the code of conduct.”