Roedean School (SA) has confirmed the resignation of senior school head Phuti Mogale after the fallout over a cancelled tennis fixture against King David Linksfield.
In a community update, the board said it has accepted the resignation of the school’s principal. “The board has accepted the resignation of Phuti Mogale, who has stepped down as head of senior school with immediate effect.”
The resignation comes after the school faced heavy criticism for refusing to honour the fixture, scheduled for February 3, which left King David’s team without opponents on the courts of Roedean’s Parktown campus.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) condemned the incident, saying: “This disturbing refusal to play Jewish learners is deeply upsetting for the Jewish tennis players but also conveys the message that hate and discrimination have become acceptable values at Roedean.”
Roedean has since apologised to King David and the wider Jewish community.
“We acknowledge that our actions which led to the cancellation of the match with King David were deeply hurtful to the Jewish community and sincerely apologise,” said the board chairperson, Dale Quaker, in a letter addressed to Rabbi Seeff.
“This has been a painful process for the tennis players involved, for King David school, and for South African Jewry as a whole. We look forward to Roedean acting on their commitment to turn this unfortunate incident into a meaningful learning opportunity for the entire school community.”
— Danny Mofsowitz, SAJBD Gauteng council chair
The school admitted its initial explanation of “communication challenges” was flawed. “These were not the cause of the cancellation of the match as Roedean originally understood and communicated, as has become clear from our ongoing independent investigations,” the letter stated.
An independent forensic investigation has now been appointed to establish the sequence of events and review governance processes.
“Subsequent information has clarified that the decision-making process and communication surrounding the fixture were flawed. This resulted in confusion in our own community and distress beyond it. For this, we are sincerely sorry,” said the board.
Roedean stressed that it “unequivocally rejects anti-Semitism and all forms of unfair discrimination” and pledged to rebuild trust through transparency and accountability. The school confirmed that it remains in dialogue with King David Linksfield and intends to reschedule the fixture.
The SAJBD has welcomed Roedean’s apology, noting that King David has accepted it as closure to the matter.
Gauteng council chair Danny Mofsowitz said: “This has been a painful process for the tennis players involved, for King David school, and for South African Jewry as a whole. We look forward to Roedean acting on their commitment to turn this unfortunate incident into a meaningful learning opportunity for the entire school community.”
Both schools have expressed a commitment to restoring relations.
“In the spirit that sport should unite rather than divide, we look forward to rescheduling the match for our girls.”
TimesLIVE
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