St Clair School held its inaugural full-school cross-country at the former racetrack yesterday.
Deputy principal Luke Herden said it was a great event which brought the school community together.
"It was awesome seeing the big kids cheering on the little ones and vice-versa, and also the parents getting on board and supporting everybody."
Cross-country was a chance for students to shine outside the classroom and build their resilience and perseverance.
The school had previously used Kettle Park for year group cross-country races but Forbury Park was "right on our back doorstep", Mr Herden said.
"It's a safe environment for our kids, it's easy for the community to come and support.
"The [Dunedin City Council] were really nice in allowing us to use it in whatever way we needed to — it was just a matter of designing a course that would meet the distances required, and cater for everybody."
He hoped the venue could be used for other school events as it was a "great resource".
In 2024, the council bought the 12ha park for $13.2 million from Harness Racing New Zealand.
The Forbury Park Trotting Club held its last meeting there on July 8, 2021.
