- A scathing eight-page letter by disgruntled parents at the Bishops Diocesan College has highlighted their concerns about the rapid changes in the school's "culture, spirit and identity".
- The letter complained about the school's management under the current head, Tony Rheeler, who was appointed in June 2020.
- The school said the letter does not accurately reflect the opinions of all parents present at a meeting that took place in August.
A group of "concerned" Bishops Diocesan College parents have taken their gripes with the elite Cape Town boys' schools to social media, complaining about the rapid change in the school's culture, spirit and identity.
In a scathing letter circulated on social media, the disgruntled parents highlighted the fact that the school was "no longer a happy place for many of the boys, parents and an increasing number of teachers, who have lost their respect and pride in the school".
In it, parents raised concerns about the school management and transformation at Bishops College under the leadership of the current Head, Tony Reeler, who was appointed in June 2020.
"Bishops' esteem and reputation among the broader community has also suffered since Reeler took over as head. Parents who can afford to send their children to Bishops are electing to send them to South African College High School (Sacs), Rondebosch or Wynberg as they still believe that tradition, pride in one's school, a celebration of excellence, respect and manners have a place in a modern boys' school," the letter read.
The group had raised concerns about losing some of the school's longstanding traditions and took umbrage with the school's decision to fly the Pride flag, which, according to them, made some students "uncomfortable".
It stated:
Parents also complained that discipline was being undermined at the school by issues such as a lack of manners, lack of respect for others, messy hair and uniform, excessive vaping and unlimited cellphone usage.
In response to the parents' complaints, the school circulated their own letter on social media conceding that they had received various correspondence from concerned parents over the past few weeks.
"These communications were sent to Mr Simon Peile, chair of the Bishops council, who asked us to arrange an informal meeting with a few concerned parents, to fully understand these issues," the school's communique read.
A meeting was subsequently held in August with concerned parents, and it was decided that Peile would consider and address issues with the council "in a professional manner".
"However, what ensued was that an informal letter was drafted by a few parents who attended the meeting. Although the letter was addressed to the chair of the council, it was not sent to him and was prematurely circulated on social media prior to a meeting with the council. We consider early publishing of these parental concerns on social media to be most unfortunate and counter-productive," it added.
The communique stressed that while the letter does raise issues of concern, the tone and extent of the letter do not accurately reflect the opinions of all parents present, nor does it reflect the extent of the discussions that were taken at the meeting.
"The council is urgently looking into the concerns that have been raised," it added.
Peile told News24 that Bishops had easily accessible channels of communication, and it would have been a very simple matter for the authors to send him the letter if that was their intention.
"The issues raised at the meeting ranged from the perennial boys' school issues of tidiness, hair, dress and manners to the poor results of the rugby teams this year; traditions; perceptions around a slippage in educational standards; concerns around the centrality of the role of the Anglican Christian faith in the daily life of the school; the visibility of the principal and the apparently undue focus placed by the principal on transformation and addressing issues such as homophobia within the school," he said.
Peile added that the council also expressed its unanimous support for Reeler and the progress that he has made in addressing the important subject of diversity, equity and belonging at the school.
"The focus on transformation by the principal is clearly an issue for the 'concerned' parents. I wish to place it on record that leading the school forward in its transformation journey was very much part of Mr Reeler's job description when he was appointed as principal to lead the school from mid-2020.
As an Anglican Christian school, we are determined to provide an environment where every individual is made to feel welcome and respected irrespective of their race, creed or sexual orientation," he added.
Peile stressed that change was uncomfortable. "For some, it will happen slower than they would like, while for others it happens too quickly," he said.