Hundreds of students from two Cape Town high schools staged violent protests this week, demanding their foreign classmates leave the institutions.
Learners from Masibambane High School and Hector Peterson High School abandoned classes and flooded Kraaifontein streets in large numbers.
Video clips showed uniformed students chanting and running through roads. Groups looted fruit stalls as motorists struggled past the chaos.
Police confirmed the demonstration turned violent when some learners attacked a foreign national and targeted roadside traders.
Students from one school threw stones at moving vehicles. Others allegedly targeted cars belonging to staff members.
Protesters then marched toward Kraaifontein Police Station, disrupting activities and ransacking shops along the way.
Security operatives moved in to restore order and escort students back to school premises.
Captain FC van Wyk of Western Cape police said officers responded around 8:30 a.m. to reports of the demonstration.
"The members attended to the complaint and restored order in the area," van Wyk noted in his statement.
According to him, large groups had begun protesting over the presence of foreign nationals in schools.
Western Cape Education Department acknowledged the incident occurred at Masibambane Secondary School initially.
It later spread to neighbouring schools and surrounding communities, authorities said.
Officials launched investigations into what sparked the unrest while continuing to monitor the situation.
South Africa has experienced growing anti-immigrant tensions in recent years across multiple communities.
Foreign nationals have repeatedly become targets during protests and xenophobic violence outbreaks nationwide.
Wednesday's incident has now renewed worries about rising anti-immigrant feelings among young people.
Experts warn the tensions could threaten safety and social cohesion in schools and local areas.
