‘We did nothing wrong’: Roosevelt matrics hit back at dance scandal fallout

The fallout from Roosevelt High School’s disastrous matric dance has prompted learners and parents to claim that while they had nothing to do with the alleged misconduct, they are being being made to pay the price for it.

Some parents and learners have told Sunday Times they feel their children have been unfairly tarnished by the events at Avianto last Wednesday , with several saying they have yet to be given evidence to support some of the most serious allegations made publicly about the evening.

They say they are not disputing that serious incidents may have occurred or that the school had a duty to act if learners or adults were putting others at risk. But they would like evidence of the claimed vomiting, drinking, dagga smoking and firearm, and to distinguish between those responsible and the wider Class of 2026.

One matric learner, who says she did not drink, did not break any school uniform rules and behaved appropriately throughout the evening, was tearful when describing how she now feels about the school. She believed she had been unfairly included in a group whose behaviour she had nothing to do with.

She no longer felt welcome at the school and believed the reaction to the dance had been unnecessarily harsh. She said the hurt is compounded by the fact that what was meant to be one of the biggest nights of her school career was ruined.

She and her friends were left wondering what was happening as the evening came to an early end. Even venue staff, she said, had asked them why the party was ending.

Her mother spoke of having saved since January, and had spent a significant amount of money on her daughter’s dress for the night.

“I knew she would want to go all out, and so I worked to make it happen for her. In the coloured community there is a lot of drugs and drinking, and so for us it is a big deal to get through matric. It’s something we celebrate,” she said, moved to tears by her child’s devastation.

The concerns come after principal Cristèl Venter shut down the matric dance at the upmarket venue following reports of severe misconduct, including intoxication, reckless driving and an alleged firearm incident.

Angry father Mohamed Kader said he believed the school had been unfair to go public with unverified claims before meeting with parents and learners to determine what had happened. He also said there had been definite misrepresentation of events.

“I am the parent that is said to have barged into the venue and grabbed my child to come out and make a second grander entrance. That’s not what happened.

“We had arrived early and my son was one of the first to enter. We parents went and sat in the entrance area, and I saw the driver that brought my son had stayed behind to watch the kids arriving. So I asked him if he would mind doing a second circuit and drop my son off again.

“Then I went to the hall and asked a teacher if she would mind calling my son, which she did. I never entered the venue, I was not disrespectful and we had permission for my son to enter again with his friends and cousins there to see him,” Kader explained.

Parents who have spoken to Sunday Times say they have yet to meet with the school.