Why Gold Coast Schoolies have swapped hangovers for lattes in 2022

The 2022 Schoolies cohort are ditching binge-drinking in favour of early morning breakfast dates, but some old habits die hard. Find out the surprising reason behind the shift.

The 2022 Schoolies cohort are swapping hangovers for early morning breakfast dates thanks to school education programs and a shift in the way we’re celebrating post-Covid.

That's according to senior cops who praised the behaviour of school-leavers celebrating on the Gold Coast, with four revellers arrested and seven charges laid on the first night.

Superintendent Rhys Wildman said these figures were on par with last year, despite an extra 10,000 revellers joining in for Schoolies 2022.

(L-R) Xanthe Craig, Maxus Montgomery and Fletcher Clare doing Schoolies the right way. Picture: Richard Gosling

He said the teens celebrating this year had displayed a level of maturity not seen in previous cohorts.

“Normally, in previous years we wouldn’t see school-leavers until around midday when they would actually start surfacing,” Supt Wildman said.

“Driving through the Gold Coast early (Sunday) morning, Schoolies were out and about. “They’re going to cafes and having breakfast. It is a different cohort.”

Supt Wildman attributed the shift in behaviour to school education programs and organisations such as the Jack Beasley Foundation, which aims to educate and drive change around youth violence.

A quick thinking drunk schoolie (circa 2015) has tried to have a chunder into a bin... and missed. A rare sight during 2022 schoolies. Picture: Marc Robertson

Queensland’s Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said after a tough couple of years of Covid restrictions, school-leavers were in a celebratory mood.

“I spent about five hours patrolling the Schoolies precinct and I must say, most were well behaved,” she said.

“It was such a wonderful, joyous feeling.

“I spoke to many people who have worked in that area for a number of years and they said it was probably one of the most celebrated Schoolies.”

But one thing hasn’t changed about this year’s cohort - relaxed hygiene standards.

A TikToker celebrating Schoolies on the Glitter Strip urged his fellow revellers to “do better” after he came across a feral sight while out walking.

In a clip labelled ‘Schoolies 2022’, TikToker oliverholmess shared a video of fast food wrappers and other rubbish strewn across Cavill Ave in the heart of Surfers Paradise.

Old habits die hard. TikTok user 'oliverholmess' shared a clip of rubbish in Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise, on the first morning of Schoolies celebrations.

The video had racked up more than 1.4 million views as of Sunday afternoon.

“Schoolies, this is f**ked,” the TikToker can be heard saying.

The video was uploaded with the caption: “do better lads.”

A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said the litter had since been removed.

“During Schoolies, the city bolsters our cleaning efforts in and around Surfers Paradise - particularly Cavill Mall – to respond to the influx of visitors,” she said.

Rest assured, these teens will have plenty of opportunity to lift their cleaning game as they tackle the next chapter of their lives - the era of the sharehouse.