Johannesburg - It’s what most high school girls, and possibly some boys, dream of: Their matric dance.
Pictures of dresses and suits are cut out of glamour magazines years before the event. And when their matric year finally arrives, there are months of agony over which dress or suit to choose.
Then there’s the shoes, the make-up, the accessories and the car. And lest we forget, the after party. The magic of a matric dance has become almost a rite of passage, but for the class of 2023 at Jeppe Girls High school, it was anything but magical.
The Jeppe Girls matric dance was held at the Cypriot Club in Bedfordview and pupils were served slices of pizza, un-buttered vienna rolls and burgers. Not the gourmet type. The pupils who follow a Halaal diet were served chicken curry and rice with salad. Parents paid R600 a ticket. The pupils said they were promised a three-course sit-down meal but claim they were not even served a starter. Dessert was peppermint tart and ice cream.
Irate pupils and parents contacted The Saturday Star to express their outrage over the meal served at what was meant to be one of the most memorable nights of a high school pupil’s life.
The school’s public relations officer, Carole Heming, said the school received “nothing but compliments about what a lovely evening the girls had at this year’s matric dance. I am sorry to hear that some parents felt they did not get value for money”.
“The R600 covered welcome drinks, drinks at the table, the food, hiring of the photographer, hire of the venue and décor. It is not unusual for matric dance tickets to be in excess of R1000 a person these days, but we kept the costs as low as we could so that as many girls as possible could attend. We have had the dance at the school for the past two years and the girls requested that we look for an external venue this year. They also asked for food that was similar to what was served at other dances we have held at the school. We therefore catered accordingly,” she said.
But pupils, who spoke to Saturday Star on condition of anonymity, said at no stage were they consulted about the menu.
“Some of the burgers were not even cooked properly,” one said.
“I cannot believe that you are having to concern yourself with this. I wish the people complaining could be directed to the school so that we can speak directly to them. We have still not had any complaints sent to the school about the food. Yes, the rolls were not buttered because some of the girls are lactose-intolerant,” Heming said.
The school also denied that the girls were offered a three-course meal.
“The girls had not been promised a three-course sit-down meal and I don’t know where this expectation arose,” she said.
But Heming had an about-turn on whether the pupils were consulted about what they wanted to eat after stating earlier that they had been.
“We did not consult the girls directly about what they would like to eat, but had had feedback from many learners attending our grade 10 and 11 dances that they liked the type of food served there. It is extremely difficult to please everyone from a school with such diverse demographics and dynamics and the organisers did their best with the funds available. We have no further comment and consider this matter closed,” Heming added.
But, for many parents, the matter is not closed.
“I wanted to cry when I saw the picture my daughter sent. I wouldn’t even spend R50 on a meal like that. What happened to all the funds they raised for the matric dance? We spent close to R10 000 for my daughter’s matric dance only for her to go and eat a hot dog. No child of mine will ever attend that school again,” a father said.
“I didn’t realise it was that bad. When my daughter said they were having burgers, I thought it was the Rocco Mamma type. I am disgusted. As for the dessert, I make that almost every Sunday at my house. That’s not the kind of meal you expect at your matric dance. I can buy ice cream at my local Pick n Pay,” a mother said.
“I am appalled by the quality of the food. We spent R1200 for my daughter and her partner’s tickets. You would expect better food for that price. That definitely did not look like a three-course sit-down meal,” a father said.
“It really wasn’t fantastic,” another pupil said.
Some of the parents blamed the menu disaster on the school’s lack of engagement with parents when it came to the dance.
“They should have spoken to us. Our children are accustomed to a certain quality of food and what they served definitely did not make the grade,” another mother said.
Heming stressed that the school did not receive any complaints about the catering.
“As we have still not received any direct complaints about the matric dance, we have asked our Grade 12 parents to complete a short survey about it. We will use the results going forward to tailor future dances and will survey the learners’ wishes before the dance is planned next year. While we cannot turn the clock back for this year’s dance, hopefully we can provide a better experience for next year’s matriculants,” she said.
Parents and pupils told the Saturday Star that they feared victimisation should their identities be known.