Thirty-seven road safety patrollers from Arrowtown and Queenstown Primary Schools were presented with certificates of appreciation by Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden and Arrowtown community Senior Constable Beth Fookes, at a sponsored lunch from Hell's Pizza on Friday.
Ms van Uden said the pupils, who patrolled the school crossings every afternoon regardless of the weather, were a ''really important'' part of the community.
''They're keeping all of our kids safe crossing the road and they do it voluntarily.
''As a community, we are really grateful to them.''
Snr Const Fookes said if it was not for the patrollers, the community would have a ''real issue'' with road safety.
Hell's Pizza had also committed to continue its sponsorship of the volunteers, all pupils in years 5, 6 and 7, for which the schools were extremely grateful, she said.
