School spirit

South Africa: Culture war over equity rocks elite school

By Audrey Simango

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Posted on November 22, 2022 10:40

291649735_450218900443934_869459797078548510_n © Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town, South Africa (facebook)
Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town, South Africa (facebook)

One of South Africa’s poshest private schools is caught in the tug of war between the country’s traditional elite and reformers agitating for a radical rethinking of the pathways to privilege in the rainbow nation.

Controversy over gay rights and slipping sports rankings has sparked a furious debate over modernisation and diversity among students, parents and alumni at Bishops Diocesan College, the elite Anglican boys’ school in Cape Town.

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