During a visit by high placed dignitaries, including the premier of the Free State, Mxolisi Dukwana, and the MEC for Education, Makalo Mohale, friends and families paid their respect to the six learners who had died in the tragic bus accident.
Visibly grief-stricken families made their way to the school, following the gut-wrenching news about the deaths of six learners from the school in a terrible accident on Tuesday, 6 February.
A bus ferrying the girls from a sporting event overturned on the R70-road and claimed the lives of six learners and left scores injured.
As the families kept streaming into the school, the mood became increasingly sombre. At the reception of the school’s administration block, candles were illuminated in honour of the deceased.
School children wept openly as the reality that six of their schoolmates were gone and never to come back again finally sank in. The teachers, who had undoubtedly developed a strong bond with the learners, were also crying.
The presence of Mohale was met with absolute sadness. The MEC himself, while talking to the school principal, was overwhelmed by emotions, and broke down in tears. That set off a chain reaction as those present also began to cry.
Mohale said he was gutted by the tragedy that befell the school, and encouraged the school management to support the learners.
“What happened to our learners is absolutely devastating and we share in the pain of the teachers, but most importantly, the learners. It is truly overwhelming, but we are hopeful that the school will emerge from this tragedy even stronger. May the souls of our dearly departed children find eternal rest and we wish the injured a speedy recovery,” he said.
