Noosa Year 12 students ended their school studies last week, marking the milestone with a range of celebrations that included a traditional walk of honour through their schools, dash to the ocean and graduation ceremonies.
Amid the tears and laughter, students and parents spoke about the senior years that will forever be linked to the Covid impact, their plans for the future and for the Schoolies week, with many opting to travel to the Gold Coast.
Numbers were greatly reduced this year from the thousands of school leavers who decided to travel to Noosa last year to celebrate the end of school.
Noosa Police acting senior sergeant Troy Cavell said there were a couple of hundred Schoolies but Noosa was a resort town and most were staying at resorts, abiding by the rules set down by the businesses and many were congregating without incident on Main Beach in the evenings.
He said one 17-year-old girl had been arrested on Monday night for public nuisance and police had responded to a couple of noise complaints, but they weren’t draining police resources.
“There’s been no violence and no damage. We’re happy for them to stay here if they maintain that level throughout the week,“ he said.
“If they wanted to party all night they probably should have gone to the Gold Coast.“
