When Eleena Li and her friends finish their exams this month, they’re not packing their swimsuits for a raucous schoolies trip to Byron Bay or the Gold Coast. They’re hitting Japan for two weeks of theme parks, shopping and culture.
“The main consensus was we didn’t want to go to actual schoolies events – it’s not really for us,” the 18-year-old says.
“In the media they’re put out as constant parties and drinking. We were like, eugh, that’s off-putting, we want to experience other stuff too.”
In just over a week’s time, Li and her six friends will land in Tokyo after months of saving, planning to go to Disneyland, Disney Sea and Universal Studios.
“In more recent years people have been choosing different destinations [to celebrate the end of exams],” Li says.
“We have other friends going to Japan from different schools. For us, it’s all about a chance to get out, celebrate and experience a new country.”
For decades, schoolies has been mythologised as every parent’s worst nightmare, a rite of passage where thousands of newly graduated high-schoolers descend on picturesque beach towns to celebrate their newfound freedom.
The stereotype is one of binge drinking, sex, drugs and angry local residents.
Then there’s the “toolies”, adults holding on to their youth who resemble Matthew McConaughey’s character in coming-of-age blockbuster Dazed and Confused (“That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age”).
But while thousands of young people are still opting for the traditional schoolies experience, others are choosing leisure and relaxation over partying and bad hangovers.
An evolving tradition
The tradition, also referred to as leavers, has been part of Australian culture since the 1970s. It began at Queensland’s Broadbeach, as students across the nation flocked to the sunshine state for planned celebrations the week after exams.
Five decades later, the Gold Coast is still the largest destination for partygoers, with schoolies contributing about $48m to the local economy.
The state government is expecting about 20,000 schoolies to hit the area this year, similar to 2022, with the largest number in Surfers Paradise.
Influencer capital Byron Bay is also popular, estimated to attract about 6,000 graduates, while Phillip Island, Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Victoria’s Surf Coast and Margaret River in Western Australia draw annual crowds.
Farther afield, Thailand, Bali and the Pacific have become hotspots in recent years, with a whole island in Fiji dedicated to schoolies celebrations.
More than 1,500 helpers from Christian youth charity Red Frogs will be stationed across 14 schoolies locations this year to offer support, including in Bali and Fiji.
To ease anxiety, some parents have taken to chaperoning their children abroad lest danger arises. Tanya Richards, who lives in Indonesia, has been giving tips to anxious mums on a Bali Facebook group.
“My second son came with a group of five mates to Bali [for schoolies],” she tells Guardian Australia. “There was no way I was not going to be here; it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”
It was lucky she was – one teenager had their wallet snatched on the second day and another had a peanut allergy and needed Richards’ help with translation.
“I stayed in a different place but kept in touch and there was no option for that group to come if I wasn’t with them,” she says.
From wild parties to mindfulness retreat
As schoolies expands, the traditions, too, are changing. Following bad press in the early 2000s, police and community groups have cracked down on events. Official parties require schoolies ID and are often held in fenced-off areas to maintain crowd control.
The Queensland government’s seven nights of free entertainment on Surfers Paradise beach will be alcohol and drug free this year, requiring registered wristbands to attend and a glitter bar, carnival rides and silent disco for a “more chilled-out experience”.
A spokesperson says last year’s response was deemed “a success” and the cohort was “among the most well-behaved”.
Data in recent years shows young people are drinking less alcohol than they used to. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of young people aged 14-24 drinking at lifetime risky levels almost halved between 2001 and 2019 – from 25% down to 13.1%.
Booking site Schoolies.com says gen Z school leavers are looking for more than parties and a star-studded lineup this year, with greater interest in beaches, shopping and local attractions.
A survey it commissioned found “being with my best friends and having quality time together” was rated as most important to students attending schoolies in 2023.
Some are capitalising on new tastes.
Mindfulness meditation teacher Michelle Eckles has launched an eight-person all-girls schoolies alternative on the Sunshine Coast.
For $1,980, students are offered a four-day “self-care journey” including yoga, meditation, professional pampering, mandala art, mocktail making, cooking, zumba and horse riding on the beach. No alcohol, smoking or vaping is allowed.
Eckles says the idea for the retreat came from mothers complaining that their children wanted to celebrate the end of exams but were put off by the stereotypes.
“My own son is going in two weeks and his girlfriend wasn’t keen – she still wanted to celebrate with friends and have fun but isn’t into the party atmosphere,” she says.
“None of us had anything like this, but kids now are drinking less – not going out every night or weekend … I wanted to held kids cope with anxiety and stress so they can prepare for the real world without turning to coping mechanisms.”
But by some measures, Eckles’ offering still counts as a schoolies experience. In the words of Schoolies.org.au, the most enduring tradition isn’t the random hookups, the bad club music or the vodka shots.
It’s the “first run down the beach and dive into the ocean after school is finished together”.
