A sombre mood hung over Selborne College yesterday, as staff and pupils struggled to come to terms with the tragic deaths of two Grade 10 pupils in a car accident on Saturday morning.
The school flag will fly at half-mast this week.
Passengers Avuyile Ngqele, 16, and his friend Sihlumile Bandile, 15, died, and three classmates were injured when a Renault Duster, driven by one of the boys, smashed into a tree in East London’s Gately Street in the early hours of Saturday as they were returning from Buccaneers sports pub and grill at the beachfront.
Both boys were due to play in the under-16B team rugby derby day against Dale College just hours later.
“It was very sombre at the school this morning,” said Selborne College public relations officer Jeff Fetting yesterday.
At the morning assembly, Fetting said principal Andrew Dewar, who read from the scriptures and led prayers, was joined by his wife, Angie, the chairman of the board of governors Steven Bruce and Stirling Baptist pastor Matt Francis on the school stage.
A funeral for both boys will be held at the school’s main hall at their families’ request on Saturday, but a time had yet to be announced, said Fetting.
One of the boys who was involved in the crash, was discharged from Frere Hospital yesterday morning, hospital CEO Rolene Wagner said. Another boy is still in Life St Dominics Hospital in a stable condition.
Avuyile Ngqele’s uncle, Luphumlo Lwana, said both families were gathered at the Ngqele family’s Amalinda home yesterday.
“We are planning a joint funeral at Selborne College on Saturday because these boys were best friends in the same school and the same class and were in the same car that crashed.”
He said Avuyile’s mother, Nomantande Ngqele, had lost her husband in September last year, and Sihlumile’s distraught mother, Unathi Bandile, of Mdantsane, had lost her only child. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Sombre Selborne mourns deaths of two pupils
The school flag will fly at half-mast this week.
Passengers Avuyile Ngqele, 16, and his friend Sihlumile Bandile, 15, died, and three classmates were injured when a Renault Duster, driven by one of the boys, smashed into a tree in East London’s Gately Street in the early hours of Saturday as they were returning from Buccaneers sports pub and grill at the beachfront.
Both boys were due to play in the under-16B team rugby derby day against Dale College just hours later.
“It was very sombre at the school this morning,” said Selborne College public relations officer Jeff Fetting yesterday.
At the morning assembly, Fetting said principal Andrew Dewar, who read from the scriptures and led prayers, was joined by his wife, Angie, the chairman of the board of governors Steven Bruce and Stirling Baptist pastor Matt Francis on the school stage.
A funeral for both boys will be held at the school’s main hall at their families’ request on Saturday, but a time had yet to be announced, said Fetting.
One of the boys who was involved in the crash, was discharged from Frere Hospital yesterday morning, hospital CEO Rolene Wagner said. Another boy is still in Life St Dominics Hospital in a stable condition.
Avuyile Ngqele’s uncle, Luphumlo Lwana, said both families were gathered at the Ngqele family’s Amalinda home yesterday.
“We are planning a joint funeral at Selborne College on Saturday because these boys were best friends in the same school and the same class and were in the same car that crashed.”
He said Avuyile’s mother, Nomantande Ngqele, had lost her husband in September last year, and Sihlumile’s distraught mother, Unathi Bandile, of Mdantsane, had lost her only child. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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