Following pupil's drowning, Laerskool Queenswood allegedly asked parents, pupils not to publicly comment

JOHANNESBURG - A parent at Laerskool Queenswood in Tshwane where a 12-year-old pupil drowned alleges the school asked pupils and the deceased's parents to refrain from speaking publicly about the incident.

Latoya Temilton drowned at a leadership camp organised by the school last Saturday. She was nominated to the prefect position last year.

On the very day of the tragedy, her parents received a call from the school's principal about it.

A parent to one of the pupils spoke out anonymously on 947 on Thursday morning.

She said that parents of pupils who attended the camp only received an indemnity form on the day of the camp.

She explained how the ordeal unfolded: “He called the mom and said to her that listen, your child has fallen and hit her head - which is very untrue at this point. And the mom says I asked him how bad it was and he said it was critical. He called her and said ma'am, your daughter has unfortunately passed.”

She alleged that two teenage boys were tasked with recovering the deceased’s body from the pool, claiming that one of them was expected to perform CPR.

Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Education MEC Matome Chiloane is deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“We are devastated by this tragic loss. We convey our sincerest condolences to the bereaved family and school community at large. We are hopeful an independent investigation into this incident will assist to determine what exactly occurred,” he said MEC.

The department said the police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.