The Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld a Bellville school’s decision to change its name from DF Malan High School to DF Akademie to distance itself from its apartheid past, despite objections from some parents.
A Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed a review application by four parents and found the school governing body (SGB) of DF Malan High School in Bellville, Western Cape, acted within its powers to rename the school in line with its values of inclusivity and academic excellence.
This means the Afrikaans-medium school’s name can be changed to DF Akademie, as suggested in May 2021. The voting for a new name took place in October 2021. Of the 3,466 votes received, the overwhelming majority, namely 85%, proposed DF Akademie.
The litigation stems from Barend Rautenbach, Johan Smit, Francois Malan and Barend de Klerk taking umbrage against the SGB’s decision after a consultative process in May 2021, to change the name of the school.
In essence, they requested that the SCA review and set aside the decision of Western Cape Division of the High Court Judge Robert Henney, who dismissed the appellants’ application to maintain the name DF Malan, the prime minister from 1948 to 1954, who is considered to be one of the architects of apartheid.
