Safe after-ball party promised

Wakatipu High School pupils are asking the Frankton community for its support and understanding before this year's high school ball after-party this weekend.

After-ball committee members Sonya Chalmers and Brian Carpenter have done a mailbox drop in the Frankton area, informing residents of the committee's plans for the event.

Wakatipu High School is not responsible for the after-ball party.

In their letter to residents, the pupils said the after-ball party, being held on the morning of March 28, would be the "most safety measured and pre-cautious party" the pupils would experience this year.

"The Wakatipu High School Formal after function is an annual event that every student looks forward to.

"It is a way in which everyone is able to socialise and relax in a controlled environment ...

We sense that without the support of our community, students will be inclined to stage their own party, in an unsupervised environment that could lead to potentially dangerous circumstances."

The function would be held in the Frankton area, near Queenstown airport.

The letter said doors would be open only for 30 minutes from 1am.

"This is a ticketed and fenced event, strictly patrolled by security and with a minimum of 10 parent helpers, plus a police officer on site at all times."

To avoid excess noise and for safety, anyone departing the venue also had to be signed off to a parent's vehicle or waiting taxi before they were permitted to leave.

"This will be strongly enforced, more than previous years, as we know in the past residents have been woken by loud teenagers on the streets and we want to cause you as little disturbance as possible ...

We apologise that the function is within range of your house, but believe you can rest easy, knowing that this function is well supervised and only happens once a year."

Queenstown Police Liquor Licensing Sergeant Keith Newell said the police were aware of the school's after-ball party and would be monitoring it throughout the morning.

Historically, police had never had any problems with Wakatipu High School pupils at the after-ball party, he said.

The pupils had also applied for resource consent to hold the after-ball party.

The application was unavailable for viewing last week.

A school spokeswoman said the pupils were no longer authorised to speak to the media, but confirmed the after-ball party was not an official school function.