Cape Town — A false bomb threat at Wynberg Girls’ High School on Wednesday morning forced the evacuation of both the high school and its associated junior schools, Wynberg Girls’ and Boys’ Junior.
According to Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond, the schools were cleared after the South African Police Service (SAPS) K9 Unit conducted a thorough search and declared the buildings safe. “We appeal to the public from refraining from making any such threats that are false, and that could have dire consequences in terms of the law,” she stated.
Hammond added that the timing of the incident could have had serious repercussions: “Had the threat been on an exam day for matrics, it would have had dire consequences,” she said, as reported by EWN.
The incident comes amid growing safety concerns in Western Cape schools.
According to official statements from the provincial government, cases of burglary and vandalism have been rising during school holidays — with 57 incidents reported across 46 schools during the June/July 2025 break, resulting in more than R1 million in damages.
The province’s National School Safety Framework requires all institutions to follow structured risk-prevention and emergency protocols, including activating on-site emergency operations centres and working closely with SAPS and other agencies when bomb threats occur.
The WCED said it will continue collaborating with SAPS and relevant security partners to ensure that school safety protocols are consistently applied and that disruption to learning is kept to a minimum.
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Compiled by Lisabeal Nqamqhele
