After showing up at school with a bodyguard last Monday to protect himself from being bullied, a 16-year-old Grade 10 pupil at Grey College in Bloemfontein will now complete his studies at home, Rapport reported on Sunday.

According to the Sunday paper, the boy’s mother and the school came to this agreement because his safety is of concern.

This follows two incidents – one in March and another on October 12. In the first incident, his head was bashed against a wall and he was hit against his ear, causing damage to his eardrum.

On that Friday, the boy was allegedly kicked and rugby balls were thrown at him.

Last Monday, Netwerk24 reported that the boy was sent home within 15 minutes of showing up to school with the bodyguard.

The online publication reported that the school’s principal, Deon Scheepers, told the boy’ s mother that the boy was welcome to return to the school, but without the bodyguard.

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The boy’s mother told Netwerk24 that, during the alleged attack, he and his family were sworn at by Grade 11 pupils, using the Afrikaans slur p**s and telling him: “You must leave this f*cking school.”

In a letter published by Volksblad newspaper, a Grade 10 pupil at the school wrote that the boy was assaulted because of his disregard of the school’s traditions.

“We don’t bully one another, but we sort one another out,” the boy wrote.

“He should have seen it coming.”

According to Rapport, the boy walked on a piece of lawn reserved for senior pupils.

READ: Tormented at school and online

In 2016, IOL reported that the father of a 15-year-old boy in Durban hired two security guards to accompany his son to school.

This followed an incident where a group of 15 boys charged at the boy wielding knives outside the gate of the Phoenix Secondary School.

IOL quoted the chairperson of the South African Council of Educators, Veronica Hofmeester, who said South Africa was second only to Jamaica when it came to violent incidents at schools.

READ: KZN school finds effective system against bullying

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