Disturbing incidents have occurred at Hope Learners with Special Educational Needs in Westcliff, Johannesburg. These include two sexual assaults within the school’s territory, one involving a Grade 9 boy and a Grade 8 girl on Valentine’s Day 2023, and the other involving a Grade 12 male student allegedly violating a Grade 4 male pupil on 26 October 2023. Additionally, a pupil in an electric wheelchair was injured after the wheelchair was tampered with, a student distributed “space cookies,” and a Grade 12 student accused of the second incident was temporarily transferred to another school to finish his final exams. The Gauteng Education Department is currently investigating the occurrences.
