ActionSA strongly condemns the violent clashes that unfolded between learners from Hoërskool Roodepoort and Westridge High School over several days last week, culminating in a brutal confrontation on Monday, 18 August 2025.
What began as tensions and threats on Thursday, 14 August, escalated into violent clashes that left several pupils injured and tragically saw the principal of Hoërskool Roodepoort stabbed in the hand while bravely attempting to defuse the situation.
ActionSA extends its deepest sympathy to the principal for the injury she sustained while protecting learners, and to the pupils and families who were harmed and traumatised by this senseless violence. Schools must be safe environments for education and growth – never places of fear and violence.
On Friday, 15 August, learners and parents approached the Roodepoort Police Station to raise their concerns but ultimately did not want to open a case. This left SAPS with limited grounds to intervene formally, yet ActionSA believes that proactive policing and engagement could still have prevented the escalation.
Instead, the gap in communication and coordination was made worse when SAPS deployed officers to Westridge High – while the actual violence erupted at Hoërskool Roodepoort, a school situated right next to the Roodepoort Police Station itself. This glaring misallocation of resources exposed both learners and educators to unnecessary danger.
In response to the violence, a high-level meeting was urgently convened, bringing together representatives from the NCOP, MPLs, the Department of Education, SAPS, JMPD, and both schools. However, as MPL Masuku, Chairperson of the Community Safety Committee, admitted, there remains a “clear gap in communication and implementation on the ground.” ActionSA insists that this must be rectified immediately.
ActionSA rejects violence in all its forms. Our schools must remain sanctuaries of discipline, safety and opportunity. The stabbing of a principal while attempting to restore calm, and the injuries sustained by learners, is a damning indictment of the collapse of school safety and law enforcement.
We will not tolerate further government inertia that places the lives of our children and educators in jeopardy.
ActionSA demands the urgent implementation of the following interventions:
- The immediate placement of trained patrollers at identified hotspots to prevent further clashes.
- Learner safety during travel by vetting drivers, monitoring routes, and deploying safety marshals at key collection points.
- SAPS and JMPD must prioritise visibility around schools during critical hours, with rapid-response units prepared to intervene.
- Each school must form a safety committee involving parents, teachers, community leaders, SAPS, and JMPD.
- Introduce mentorship, counselling, and conflict-resolution programmes to address the root causes of youth violence.
- The Departments of Education and Community Safety must provide written timelines for the implementation of safety measures and account for failures to act on earlier recommendations.
ActionSA reaffirms its unwavering commitment to championing the safety and dignity of learners, educators and surrounding communities as well as the adherence to the rule of law. We will not stand by while schools become battlegrounds. The government has a responsibility to move beyond rhetoric and deliver the decisive action that our children deserve.
ActionSA Demands Urgent Action After Principal Stabbed in Roodepoort School Violence
ActionSA strongly condemns the violent clashes that unfolded between learners from Hoërskool Roodepoort and Westridge High School over several days last week, culminating in a brutal confrontation on Monday, 18 August 2025.
What began as tensions and threats on Thursday, 14 August, escalated into violent clashes that left several pupils injured and tragically saw the principal of Hoërskool Roodepoort stabbed in the hand while bravely attempting to defuse the situation.
ActionSA extends its deepest sympathy to the principal for the injury she sustained while protecting learners, and to the pupils and families who were harmed and traumatised by this senseless violence. Schools must be safe environments for education and growth – never places of fear and violence.
On Friday, 15 August, learners and parents approached the Roodepoort Police Station to raise their concerns but ultimately did not want to open a case. This left SAPS with limited grounds to intervene formally, yet ActionSA believes that proactive policing and engagement could still have prevented the escalation.
Instead, the gap in communication and coordination was made worse when SAPS deployed officers to Westridge High – while the actual violence erupted at Hoërskool Roodepoort, a school situated right next to the Roodepoort Police Station itself. This glaring misallocation of resources exposed both learners and educators to unnecessary danger.
In response to the violence, a high-level meeting was urgently convened, bringing together representatives from the NCOP, MPLs, the Department of Education, SAPS, JMPD, and both schools. However, as MPL Masuku, Chairperson of the Community Safety Committee, admitted, there remains a “clear gap in communication and implementation on the ground.” ActionSA insists that this must be rectified immediately.
ActionSA rejects violence in all its forms. Our schools must remain sanctuaries of discipline, safety and opportunity. The stabbing of a principal while attempting to restore calm, and the injuries sustained by learners, is a damning indictment of the collapse of school safety and law enforcement.
We will not tolerate further government inertia that places the lives of our children and educators in jeopardy.
ActionSA demands the urgent implementation of the following interventions:
ActionSA reaffirms its unwavering commitment to championing the safety and dignity of learners, educators and surrounding communities as well as the adherence to the rule of law. We will not stand by while schools become battlegrounds. The government has a responsibility to move beyond rhetoric and deliver the decisive action that our children deserve.