A video of two schoolgirls involved in a vicious fist fight at a Cape Flats high school has gone viral on social media.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has condemned the violent brawl and said it has launched an investigation into the matter.
The two girls are both in Grade 8 at Belgravia High School in Athlone, and the fight was recorded during school hours on the school premises.
In the 24-second video clip, one girl is wearing a black blazer and the other a school tracksuit top.
The girls ruk each other around by their long ponytails while their classmates shout and scream from the side, egging them on, to “finish mekaar”.
The girls both get in shots, hitting each other in the face while pulling hair.
A girl presumably making the video can be heard shouting: “Moer haar, moer haar.”
Nobody intervenes, and boys can be heard laughing loudly while other pupils also record the fight, which occurred during interval.
At the end of the video, the girl in the blazer is seen “winning”, giving the other girl heavy blows to the head before throwing her to the ground and kicking her.
The other meisie gets up and the video ends. It is still unclear what the fight was about.
The video was shared on Facebook on 7 June and by Wednesday it had over 17 000 views.
The Daily Voice contacted the school principal but was told he was in meetings and not available.
The Director of Communications for the WCED, Bronagh Hammond, says the school is aware of the incident and is investigating.
“The incident happened last week. The school was made aware that it was posted on social media over the weekend. The school is investigating the matter which involved two Grade 8 learners during interval,” Hammond says.
When asked why school personnel did not intervene during the brawl, Hammond says it was over quickly.
“An educator was alerted, but the fight had broken up by the time the educator got there. Security officers were on duty, but were not in the same vicinity when the fight occurred.
“The WCED does not condone any form of physical violence in our schools. We also discourage the filming of incidents of violence or bullying in schools. Learners should be raising their voices, and not their phones.”