"We've had a few things cancelled this year, because of Covid-19, that are normally tradition Year 13 events, from our school ball to our trip to Wellington, so we wanted to create something positive for us to enjoy, a new tradition for the Year 13s," said head girl Hazel Simes, 17.
Hazel said the Year 13s agreed on the idea of a spirit week as a way to finish their year on a high note.
"Everyone liked the idea, so we worked out different themes for each day of our last week of lessons before exams."
Deputy head girl Ella Coulton, 17, said the week started with a blast to the past, as students came to school dressed up as their younger selves.
"So for me that meant a lot of pink. I did try to find my Hannah Montana shirt that I wore religiously when I was younger as well. It was lots of fun looking at old photos of ourselves as we planned for that dress-up."
Next was Tradie Tuesday with the students dressing up as electricians, plumbers, builders and other tradies, complete with boom box blaring, followed by Western Wednesday where the focus was on the wild west and cowgirls.
Students were back in uniform on Thursday for their traditional end of year chapel service before they went on exam leave, with the last part of their spirit week scheduled to take place on the following Monday.
While their school ball had been cancelled in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions, the students had come up with a way to make sure their ball dresses still got an outing, with a very formal leavers lunch for the students planned, said Hazel.
"While the rest of the years go home at lunch time on Monday, we will be getting changed into our ball dresses and then enjoying a special leavers lunch in our dining hall together. It's a good way to finish before we begin our final exams later this month."
