The governing body and staff of Maritzburg College said they are 'deeply upset about these revelations which are contrary to the entire spirit of both the orientation camp itself and the school'.
“From the beginning of 2015, we introduced a two-day, one-night orientation camp for all grade 8s at the school during the first week of the academic year with a focus on the practical aspects of college life.
“We set out to educate our new pupils from the outset about the ethos and traditions of the school — two of the cornerstones of the education we provide.” The governing body said at the conclusion of this year’s event a group of pupils reported they had developed a skin rash.In terms of national legislation and the school’s code of conduct, any form of initiation is prohibited.The school began an investigation and it emerged that they had urinated in the pit hours before the grade 8s crawled through it.“All boys who were implicated were suspended pending the finalisation of the investigation.
“As this process is still under way we cannot predict what measures will be taken and what disciplinary outcomes will result."“No pupils were exposed to any form of initiation ... in terms of national legislation and the school’s code of conduct, any form of initiation is prohibited,” the governing body said.“We are confident that those who were involved as well as all other pupils at our school will learn an important life lesson from this inappropriate behaviour.