"Rest Well Dear": Bishop Lavis High School Mourns Grade 11 Learner Kyo De Klerk, Mzansi Pays Tribute

• Bishop Lavis High School announced the passing of Grade 11 learner Kyo De Klerk in a Facebook post
• The school extended its condolences to Kyo's brother Elijah, his parents, classmates and teachers
• Community members expressed grief online, with some sharing their own losses of young people in recent weeks

Bishop Lavis High School is grieving the loss of one of its own. The Cape Town school announced the death of Grade 11 learner Kyo De Klerk in a Facebook post on 30 September 2026, leaving the school community heartbroken.

The school, which described Kyo as part of its family, shared a memorial card bearing the words:

"Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts."

The post offered condolences to Kyo's brother Elijah, who is also a learner at the school, as well as to his parents, friends, classmates and teachers.

A community comes together in mourning

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The announcement by Bishop Lavis High School drew an outpouring of grief from people across Cape Town and beyond. Many who commented said the loss felt deeply personal, with some sharing that they, too, had buried children far too young.

The school asked that Kyo's family be given space and privacy to grieve, acknowledging how painful the moment was for everyone close to him.

Several commenters noted that the death was not an isolated incident, with one person saying that Facebook had carried news of a young person's death every night that week. The frequency of such losses clearly weighed heavily on the community.

View the Facebook post below:

Mzansi reacts to the loss

South Africans flooded the comments section on the school's page with messages of sorrow and solidarity:

Kaylee Ann Olivier wrote:

"Onse jong mense moet baie versigtig wees hulle moet rerag baie versigtig wees, nie net n bietjie nii want hukm moet dit vanaf 16jarige kinders se lewens wat geneem word aih" [Our young people must be very careful, they really must be very careful, not just a little, because this must stop, lives being taken from 16-year-old children]

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Nadira Govindsamy said:

"Rest well dear one."

Devi Pillay shared:

"I too lost my son. I feel your pain, may his soul rest in eternal peace, condolences to the bereaved family. It's so sad and he's so young, handsome young boy."

Claudine Fisher said:

"Oh man no man what do we die young people then soo from August only school children of which my son only 16 years also just suddenly dies. People, we are really praying for our young people, they are being robbed of their youth so young."

More Briefly News stories on loss

• Mpumelelo Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal is mourning the death of a young learner, leaving the school community and South Africans heartbroken.
• Wynberg Boys’ High School is mourning former Headmaster Keith Richardson, who spent four decades at the Cape Town school and led it for 16 years.
• Ferdinand Postma High School in Potchefstroom is mourning learner Ruan Oberholzer following the school’s announcement of his passing.

Source: Briefly News