No room for kids of dad who got hot under the collar at school sports events

● Johannesburg private schools have been accused of blacklisting two boys who had to leave Pridwin Preparatory School because of rows between their father and staff involved in sports coaching.

The brothers, who were in grade 6 and grade 2 last year, remained at home when private schools reopened last Wednesday.

Their parents — the father is a chartered accountant and the mother is a psychiatrist — have been embroiled in a legal battle with Pridwin since the headmaster, Selwyn Marx, cancelled their contract with the school in June 2016 because of the way the father had spoken to teachers at sports events involving his boys.

The boys were effectively expelled at the end of 2016, but the parents obtained an interim order forcing the school to allow them back pending a final legal outcome.

In July 2017, Johannesburg high court acting judge Clare Hartford dismissed an application for the school’s action to be declared unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. And in November 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the parents’ appeal against Hartford’s judgment.

It has now emerged that four other private schools in Johannesburg — The Ridge School, St John’s College, St David’s Marist Inanda and De La Salle Holy Cross College — have said they cannot take the boys.

The parents believe the schools have blacklisted their children after a briefing on the Pridwin row from Marx, their attorney, Errol Knowles, said.

“It is shameful that [the] schools have closed ranks around the actions of the head, further discriminating against the model children, due to no fault of theirs,” Knowles said.

Marx told the Sunday Times he had presented a summary of the Hartford judgment at a conference of deputy headmasters held by the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (Isasa) in 2017.

“The judgment is in the public domain,” he said. “The acceptance or non-acceptance of the children at any Isasa school was never raised by anyone, including myself, before, after, or during the presentation.”

He said he had been asked by the organisers of the conference to discuss the judgment with delegates as “the focus of a deputy heads conference is training the leadershipin-waiting and the Hartford judgment has relevance to all independent schools”.

Richard Stanley, headmaster of The Ridge School, said the father had asked him in January 2018 if he could enrol his younger son in grade 2, but all classes were full.

“We had a maximum of 66 boys in that grade throughout 2018, and the same year group, now in grade 3, continues to occupy all 66 available places.”

Neil Berndsen, headmaster of De La Salle, said the school treated applications for places as confidential.

Patrick Lees, headmaster of St John’s Preparatory, said the school had had to turn the boys away because “the school is at capacity”.

He added: “If and when a space becomes available, their applications will be considered together with all other applications.”

Nick Clogg, the acting headmaster of the preparatory school at St David’s Marist Inanda, did not respond to questions.

Lebogang Montjane, executive director of Isasa, said member schools “act independently, using their professional judgment when making admissions decisions. There is categorically no collective agreement to admit or reject any child or children.”

It is shameful that schools have closed ranks … further discriminating against the children

Errol Knowles