THE Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will action various interventions, including searches and drug tests, to combat the violence at Bridgetown High School amid ongoing clashes.

This comes just days after a vicious fight had broken out on the school grounds.

Panic spread across the Cape Flats community on Friday morning as frantic parents gathered to get their children.

At the root of the conflict are claims that laaities have formed two opposing groups split along racial lines for the sale of drugs.

Despite police being called into the school last week, worried parents have raised the alarm over fights just outside the school grounds.

Sadu Davids of the Bridgetown Neighbourhood Watch and Community Development Forum revealed that patrollers and  parents are now left to deal with the fallouts to ensure the safety of the community.

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Davids says: “The problems at Bridgetown have been happening for over a year.

“The patrollers along with the community are trying to safeguard but in Bridgetown the school is the biggest drug house. “In the area, we directly approach those who are merting and ruk them out of their houses. At the school we cannot do much.

“The root of this problem is the drug sales at the school and with the escalating violence, we are warning the school that someone will die like this.

“Yes, the patrollers are helping but not the real muscle of the neighbourhood watch, because we get told these are children and they must be deal with it in a certain way. These are not children, these are skollies...”

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond acknowledges the issue says: “We have requested an intervention programme at the school which is being arranged by our district social worker in terms of conflict management, positive behaviour and discipline, as well as counselling support where required. SAPS has also engaged with the learners of the school.

“Further interventions such as search and seizures and drug  testing will be implemented.”