24 May 1976
Soweto pupils rejected the Orlando Diepkloof School board's demand that they return to class following a walkout to protest the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This marks a turning point and leads to the 16 June 1976 event of the Soweto Uprising. As the boycott spread to other schools, the South African Student Movement had tried but failed to resolve the issue, by holding a conference in Roodepoort to discuss the campaign against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
References

Ndlovu, S., M., ‘The Soweto Uprising’, in The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1970-1980, Volume 2, (UNISA Press), pp. 334-335|The South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET),"The Soweto Uprising",From: The South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET),[Online],available at: www.sadet.co.za,[Accessed on: 20 May 2014]