Questions remain over why two Joburg schoolgirls jumped off a roof at St Teresa’s School

Questions remain over why two pupils jumped from the second floor of a building at a private school in Johannesburg this week.

A 14-year-old grade 8 pupil, whose name is known to TimesLIVE, died after jumping off a building at St Teresa’s School while the second pupil was injured.

The 14-year-old pupil’s funeral took place on Friday.

While the school did not provide specific details of the incident, it confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the preliminary findings of an independent investigation it commissioned suggest the injuries were self-inflicted.

TimesLIVE has reliably learnt the teenagers jumped from the building late on Monday afternoon after school hours.

The injured pupils were found by a member of the support staff who then called a teacher.

Emergency services personnel arrived at the school and both pupils were rushed to hospital.

TimesLIVE has also established that the pupil who survived the incident has since been discharged from hospital.

School psychologist Dalit Segal, who said she was not allowed to comment on the specifics of the incident because there was still a police investigation, said the school was in complete shock.

“It’s tragic, it’s extremely sad and there are no words really to describe how we are all feeling. She was a stunning kid and had a great group of friends.”

Segal said they were supporting the pupils and getting help from counsellors and psychologists.

“We don’t actually know what happened.”

Lisa Palmer, executive head of Kingsmead College, a neighbouring school, said after hearing of the tragic news of the pupil’s death on Tuesday, they offered support to any parent or pupil “who were feeling like they wanted to chat about it and unpack things a little bit”.

“It’s quite a close community. They play hockey against one another and sport. We did grade interventions particularly with our grade 8s and 9s. They just seemed to be really, really affected.”

Said Palmer: “We just feel for them [St Teresa’s] and want to lend our support to them.”

St Teresa’s said in the statement it was “an incredibly serious matter and we are treating it with utmost importance”.

“As this incident involved the passing away of a pupil, we are fully co-operating with the Rosebank branch of the SA Police Service.”

The school said they were grateful for the help and support received from parents and the extended school community.

“Counsellors and psychologists have been made available to all learners and staff and our priority is to continue to provide support to all who need it.”

TimesLIVE