Schoolies like you've never seen it before

Schoolies party. Source: news.com.au

• Experts: Schoolies are now better behaved
• Arrest numbers down 50 per cent in five years
• Younger generation "far more conscious of danger"

TEENAGERS in handcuffs. Streets covered in vomit. Blood-stained t-shirts. Hotel carpets soaked in booze. Drugs. Casual sex. Mayhem.

That's the picture we get when we think schoolies. But is it really a crazy, week-long cocktail of debauchery?

Not any more, according to organisers, police and social experts, who say young school leavers are better educated and better behaved than ever before.

In 2011, despite reveller numbers remaining high and hotels booked to capacity, Gold Coast police reported schoolies were "extremely well behaved", with arrests down 50 per cent since 2006.

Today, thousands of senior students will flock to party hotspots like Surfers Paradise and NSW's Byron Bay and schoolies organisers are confident of another good year.

So what happened to the uncontrollable mess we're used to seeing every year?

"This generation has had far greater exposure to the consequences of crazy behaviour," social analyst David Chalke told news.com.au.

"They've seen it on YouTube. They've seen the tributes to kids who've been raped, killed and bashed on Facebook.

"They're far more conscious of danger."

Mr Chalke says Generation Y was the generation which didn't know how to properly deal with the influx of new technology like mobile phones and the internet.

But parents, teachers, the media and the kids themselves "have woken up to the dangers of completely unmoderated use of news media".

"The system has instilled into young people what's sensible and not sensible," he said.

"We've collectively learned how to manage this new technological innovation.

"We're getting better at it and the kids themselves are better at using it."

Schoolies celebrations. Source: The Daily Telegraph

Byron Bay police inspector Greg Jago agrees schoolies' behaviour has been of an increasingly higher standard.

"In general it's been good. There've been a couple of isolated incidents but the behaviour of young people has been very good," he said.

"[Schoolies shouldn't] drink to excess, [they need to] look after their mates and secure their valuables."

'Better educated, more aware'

Behavioural expert Bernard Salt says the improving standards of schoolie behaviour may be a factor of generational change and says departing senior students are more aware and better prepared than they had been previously.

"Information, education, media awareness and greater policing have impacted schoolies and their parents about excessive and extreme behaviour," he told news.com.au

"We're seeing moderated behaviour as a consequence and the recklessness is being reined in."

Mr Salt says the "schoolies model" is better than it was five or 10 years ago, meaning improved behaviour and awareness about the consequences of poor decision-making.

"In boom times there may have been a greater recklessness, a live-for-the-moment culture that applied to schoolies," he said.

"In more straightened times people are more measured."

But school-leavers aren't just taking over the east coast; thousands of schoolies will head overseas to celebrate their graduation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has set up a special info page on its Smart Traveller site to educate schoolies about some of the risks involved with heading abroad to party.

"There are undoubtedly more young people going to places like Bali and Thailand, which are popular for schoolies," a DFAT spokesman said.

"Get travel insurance and read travel advice before you go overseas. If you can afford an airline ticket, you can afford travel insurance. It's a must.

"And read about where you're going, particularly which laws are different to ours on alcohol and drug-taking."

World Youth Adventures, an "alternative schoolies" travel provider, says more and more senior students are choosing to head abroad for schoolies.

"As a parent, where would you rather invest your money?" says spokesperson Brad Atwal.

"Flush it down a Gold Coast toilet or expand your child's view of the world by giving them exposure local communities and people often less fortunate than themselves."

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