Johannesburg – Head of Senior School at Roedean, Phuti Mogale, has quit amid the furore over her students failing to honour a tennis fixture with the Jewish King David High School, seemingly because of its position on genocide accused Israel.
Matters came to a head earlier this month after Roedean School for girls failed to fulfill an inter-school tennis fixture against Jewish students from King David, prompting the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) to condemn what it claimed was “blatant prejudice shown by the Roedean”.
Even though the underfire Roedean apologised, the accusations of prejudice morphed into allegations of antisemitism, hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group.
Stung by the criticism, Roedean wrote a letter to Rabbi Seef, General Director at the South African Board of Jewish Education, in which it stated that the school recognises its obligation to ensure that religion and any other forms of discrimination do not come into school sport.
“We acknowledge that our actions, which led to the cancellation of the match with King David, were deeply hurtful to the Jewish community and sincerely apologise,” wrote Roedean.
“We recognise the impact this situation has had on both our communities and are committed to reflecting on the internal circumstances that led to this outcome.”
Roedean said it unequivocally rejects antisemitism and all forms of discrimination or prejudice, saying “such attitudes have no place in our school or our values”.
The letter seen by The Bulrushes was apparently written after a Board meeting that led to the principal quitting in a huff.
Under pressure, Mogale, who was appointed last year in July as Head of Senior School at Roedean, resigned with immediate effect on Thursday, 12 February 2026.
Seeking to move forward, Dole Quaker, Roedean School Board Chairman, said in the letter that, “we look forward to building bridges between our communities and avoiding division in the spirit that sport should unite rather than divide, we look forward to rescheduling the march for our girls”.
Before taking up the principal position at Roedean, Mogale was Deputy Headmistress and Head of Boarding at St Mary’s School, Waverley.
She holds an LLB degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of South Africa (Unisa), specialising in senior and further education training phases.
She also holds a Certificate in Practical Legal Training from Unisa.
