Roedean, a top private school for girls in Johannesburg, has been shaken by allegations of bullying by three children, one of them the child of a senior government official and another of a high-flying Johannesburg couple.
No information was available about the parents of the third girl.
The school has confirmed it is investigating how a “bright” young learner, Mary*, who joined Roedean Junior School only six weeks ago, has been bullied, manipulated, tormented and taunted by the three girls.
Mary shocked her parents by talking about suicide, which led to them asking the school to urgently act against the bullies because they were concerned about the well-being of their child. This concern was intensified after they discovered a disturbing video message on Mary’s cellphone addressed to one of the alleged bullies, expressing how she cries in secret in the toilets every day because of how she is being treated.
This sparked concern that the abuse had not been an isolated incident.
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