St John’s College in Johannesburg is the latest school to postpone their Easter Festival in response to the Covid-19 precautions.

The 25th edition of the festival, which emphasises a friendly atmosphere with no league tables, medals or prizes, was set to be held over the Easter weekend between 9-13 April.

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However, a decision has been made to postpone the rugby festival after the precautions were introduced in South Africa to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

‘In response to the National State of Disaster as declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival, proudly sponsored by Standard Bank, will not be taking place over the Easter weekend,’ a statement from the school read.

‘We hope to find an alternate date within the winter sports season and will keep you posted. Anyone who has already bought their tickets can request a refund through Webtickets.’

SA Rugby magazine understands that the schools is looking at rescheduling the festival to 12 June, although it is a fluid situation at the moment.

The rebooted festival may also be more high-profile than usual, with Paul Roos, Monument, Paarl Boys’ High and Affies all interested in taking part.

This follows the cancellation of other Easter Festivals, including at St Sthithians College and Kearsney College.

The 2020 edition of the World Schools Festival was cancelled earlier this month, while the 2020 Wildeklawer Sports Festival has been postponed indefinitely.

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