Roll out the red carpet, bring out the ballgowns and lock and load the firearms. This was the shocking reality for Roosevelt High School’s matric dance, where a night of teenage glamour morphed into a full-blown nightmare.
Once regarded as one of Johannesburg’s top-performing government schools, with over 1,500 pupils, the 1952-established institution is now scrambling to manage a massive reputational fallout.
What was supposed to be a milestone celebration at the elite Avianto venue ended in absolute chaos — with a gun pulled, intoxicated pupils, a venue smelling of dagga and vomit and parents behaving badly.
The scandal was laid out in detail in an open letter penned by school principal Cristèl Venter. Suffering from a severe illness, Venter initially stayed home, but left her sick bed to shut the event down early after receiving escalated reports of trouble. The dance was chaperoned by teaching staff who attended voluntarily to show support, even paying for their own tickets.
According to Venter, arrivals were scheduled from 4pm to allow time for photographs and comfortable seating. Instead, the drama kicked off immediately when a firearm was produced during arrivals and aimed at an Avianto staffer. The incident was captured on film and witnessed by parents in the queue behind the vehicle.
“This is a serious allegation. Security camera footage has been obtained and reviewed, and the matter will now be dealt with through the appropriate lawful channels,” Venter stated, adding that firearms are strictly prohibited as “dangerous objects” under public school legislation, which extends to school activities outside school premises.
Things got worse. Venter revealed that teachers were subjected to verbal abuse from parents, pupils and transporters while trying to clear traffic. One female teacher was shoved by a parent and told she was in the way. Another parent barged into the venue to pull their child out to make a second, grander entrance with a larger crowd. In another clash, a father aggressively pointed his finger in a female teacher’s face when asked to move along.
Pupils also responded with open contempt when teachers tried to hurry them inside because they were late. Meanwhile, Avianto staff reported excessive car revving and reckless driving, with one vehicle revving so violently it stalled and had to be taken away by venue staff.
Inside the luxury estate, the atmosphere degraded further. Several pupils arrived “severely intoxicated”. Bathrooms and other areas around the property were covered in vomit, leaving the venue in an “unacceptable condition” while the unmistakable smell of dagga drifted through the air. Avianto employees reported feeling afraid while hosting the school function.
Venter noted that while some concerned parents reached out to complain, they did so anonymously out of fear that their children would face backlash.
“I will not accept insinuations that Roosevelt High School or I as principal would victimise a learner because a parent raises a legitimate concern,” Venter fired back.
After ordering the venue to halt the dance early, Venter arrived at the scene to witness firsthand the tail-end of the chaos.
“In my 19 years at Roosevelt High School I cannot recall another evening in which I apologised as many times as I did last night – to venue personnel, to staff members and to learners who had done nothing wrong,” Venter said.
Dedicated staff members stayed behind to help pupils contact their parents and arrange safe collections, waiting for parents with those too drunk to be left. While the police were called, they failed to pitch, prompting Avianto to deploy their private security so teachers wouldn’t have to act as guards.
Responding to critics demanding to know why the school didn’t stop substance abuse at the door, Venter stated: “Roosevelt High School did not travel to a matric dance with a busload of drug-testing equipment to carry out forensic investigations in the bathrooms.”
Now facing massive damage control, the principal promised a thorough, formal investigation.
“There will be no trial by WhatsApp, Facebook, rumour or school grapevine. There will be evidence, procedure, fairness and accountability,” she said. Addressing the pupils who stayed out of the fray, she added: “How did we reach this point where a venue’s employees reported feeling afraid while hosting a school function? To those who behaved well — you deserved better.”
Venter vowed that this wild behaviour “will not become normal”. Her open letter quickly went viral across social media platforms. Public responses from parents and community members have largely backed the school’s “house-cleaning” approach, expressing dismay at the disruptive group while sharing deep sympathy for the educators and well-behaved pupils whose special night was ruined.
Avianto, which markets itself as “a venue destination of sophistication”, was contacted for comment and its response is awaited.
TimesLIVE
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