Midrand High School

Yasis this school is over faulty vaar8. Ouens are stingy to dala choef but when they don't have they'll come to you saying "skyf choef". Bafethu you must get your own choef

I am disappointed by the discrimination and inconsistency I’ve experienced at this school. At the start of the year, I was placed in an Afrikaans class despite choosing Zulu, and I was asked how I, as an Indian learner, could be doing Zulu. Subject choices should never be questioned based on race.and I believe the man reason they take advantage is cause phones parents allow , if it was you’d see what a day of mhs learner is like Teachers make us sit on the floor because we fail to attend 9 lessons even though serving a valid reason on why we fail to attend ,they already categorise us as “the failure,the dumb boy,the dumb girl” I’ve also been told my natural hair is “too bushy” and must be tied in a bun. When I did that, I was told not to use gel, only water. This makes it difficult to feel comfortable in my own skin. Lip gloss and Vaseline are taken away without clear reason, and on a rainy day I was questioned for wearing a school tracksuit because “it’s not winter,” despite the weather. The rules feel inconsistent and unfair.

I have experienced a very friendly atmosphere where values are treasured and learners are developed holistically to bring out the best in every learner. A very dedicated management team who put the learners first. Learners thrive here. Great discipline principles

This might be long but so be it. This school is Racist and Biased. First of all, black girls and our afros. We literally get stopped and denied access into the school when we have our natural hair and teachers even say that we should cut it. Lets say i tie my afro into a puff, its still not allowed. While indians or whites and their natural hair can reach all the way to butt length. While our braids cant even pass our shoulders. First it was midback length and on a random day the school decided to change the rule without informing anyone and stopped MANY girls at the gate, took them to the office and cut their hair. Secondly, this is a story that happened to one of my grade mates. There was a time when a teacher called her into an empty classroom and locked the door. Then she scolded my grade mate about the length of her skirt and then took a scissor and told the girl that its either she cut the hem of the skirt to make it longer or she isnt leaving. Also, they confiscate things that they loose or take home to use for themselves. There are teachers that swear at learners, call them names, insult them and tell them that they will never make it far because of certain things like behavior. Teachers purposefully embarrass learners infront of their classmates, sometimes even for small mistakes that the learner makes. Also, they are male teachers who make sny comments about or to the girls and look at them in disgusting ways. This isnt only about the learners being bullied by teachers, but teachers bully each other as well. Its a very very toxic environment. About the Racist part. There was a time where me and my classmates were sitting in Afrikaans period and the teacher was marking tests and she gave us permission to whisper. All was going well till a few boys in my class spoke zulu to one another and she got angry. She started yelling saying "this is not your home" "if you want to speak those languages, go back to the locations and the townships, there you can be free" and a bunch of stuff like that. We tried reporting but no one did anything. Even when teachers swear at us, when we report, no one does anything. Teachers chase learners out of class and when a different teacher sees the learner outside without a class pass, they get accused of bunking and they dont even get a chance to explain themselves. And when its cold, girls are forced to suffer. Even if its drizzling but "the sun is out" girls are denied access to the school and their bags get taken. Girls not having short skirts is one rule i can understand but i dont understand the pants rule. Even if girls are allowed to wear pants and not tracksuits when its time for formal uniform that would be way better. Tote / side bags are not allowed and that also does not make sense if all teachers want their books and textbooks, where are we supposed to put them!!! The bathrooms are not cleaned and they blame it on learners and not taking care of them. MHS learners live in fear and all they need is a little more lenient and understanding staff. Staff also favor learners who get higher grades than others and that can also be very demotivating for the rest. If you want to bring your child to MHS, id reconsider my options

Before I start stating my points, I am a student writing this (12-17), and just because of my age, I truly hope you don't dismiss my concerns and complaints.. because they aren't just my own, they're from many many students who've experienced similar things. 1. Only students who have braids in their hair have to cut them, if they're "too long", people with straight hair don't have to go through this. Because it's ''natural'', but hair extensions for different hair types exist, really good wigs, clips and all. And they can blend in very well with natural hair. Will you go through every student's individual hair stands to look for extensions? 2. In majority of cases, students pay a hefty fee of roughly 500-700 rand to get their hair braided, only for you to make them chop it all off, despite their parents or themselves, spending their own hard earned money to make their children look decent and feel beautiful. (which in a few cases means less fortunate families may go without food for it.) 3. yet again, people with straight hair, don't go through this, and I don't think they should either, because they also spent time growing their hair out, on products and maintenance, which, in itself is also expensive. 4. I've observed a double standard. Students with very long, straight hair wear their hair in buns, to hide the length and make it abide by the rules, yet when a child with braids does it, they are stopped, have to undo their bun, and then if it's "too long" they get in trouble and have to, again cut it, which is deeply unfair. 5. Male students with mid length hair suffer similar problems, having fairly long hair should not be a problem, as long as they style it neatly, like females with long hair do too. 6. We are often taught in life orientation and other subjects, that all people, in any given situation of this sort, no matter appearance or body, should be treated with kindness and respect. Yet here we are. 7. There are also other concerns and questions I have. Will you make all students take off their shoes, at the gate, as one could easily sneak a small bottle of pills, a few cigarettes or other forms of drugs in them. 8. Will you search students undergarments, because they could, again, sneak those items in, and get through the metal detector with them, as they aren’t metallic and won't be detected? 9. Are you going to go through every student's water, and lunch to make sure there's nothing suspicious? Go though everything despite the fact there are over 1500 students at the school. I'm not writing this to be disrespectful, and if it comes off as so, I deeply apologise. I'm only stating problems that I and many others have faced. -yours sincerely, anonymous student.