Schoolies Week
Schoolies or Schoolies week refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (known as "Schoolies" or "Leavers") having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December.
Queensland's Gold Coast, particularly Surfers Paradise, maintains its status as the largest single venue for schoolies week, attracting tens of thousands of Schoolies. Schoolies have similar traditions at Magnetic Island in Townsville, Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Sunshine Coast and Port Macquarie. Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise are particularly popular amongst private school graduates.
For South Australia, Victor Harbor is the location of choice for schoolies, while in Victoria the Surf Coast is popular, mainly consisting of Lorne and Torquay. In Western Australia, Rottnest Island off Perth and the South West towns of Dunsborough and Busselton are popular schoolies week destinations. In Tasmania there is not an established "Schoolies" location or tradition as such.
Since the schoolies week event began to attract large enough numbers to warrant annual media attention - the Schoolies week has become a familiar concept nation-wide. Popular Schoolies venues are often attended by people well past school age, labelled by the media as "toolies". The word is derived from the notation "too old for Schoolies".
Official Schoolies Events, which are drug and alcohol free, are held at many Schoolies destinations.
