You got questions? We got answers...

• Why is Encounter Youth running the Schoolies Festival™ this year?

  The implications of COVID are difficult to juggle and every situation requires a thoughtful response based on its own merits.

  Year 12s will be celebrating in November this year. A COVID-safe response is necessary.

  Encounter Youth is working under the direction of SA Health and the other key State Government stakeholders to provide a COVID-safe management response to school leaver celebrations in South Australia.

  We run the safest Schoolies event in the country and have done so for the past 23 years.

  As always, our objective is to support young people during this celebratory weekend and to safeguard the Victor Harbor community.

• Who is Encounter Youth anyway?

  SA Police invited Encounter Youth to assist the volatile schoolies scene in Victor Harbor back in 1999. We immediately began implementing positive engagement strategies with school leavers converging on the area and transformed the scene into the celebration known today as the Schoolies Festival™.

  For 23 years, Encounter Youth has worked with SA Police, SA Health and key government agencies to facilitate the safest Schoolies event in the country.

  Encounter Youth is not an event management company profiting off Schoolies. We are a registered charity that trains and mobilises hundreds of volunteers to safely assist young people during this celebratory weekend and to safeguard the Victor Harbor community. Our volunteers serve at their own expense to provide this support.

  Along with hosting the Schoolies Festival™, we also train and mobilise volunteers to serve vulnerable young people on Hindley Street every Saturday night and we are the largest provider of Alcohol & Other Drug education to South Australian secondary students, educating over 22,000 young people, parents and teachers each year.

• Will Schoolies Festival™ be COVID-safe this year?

  Yes, the well-being and safety of school leavers, volunteers, and the wider Fleurieu community are one of Encounter Youth’s primary focuses. The Festival will align with current COVID-safe standards for the graduating class of 2022.

  However, we will no longer require attendees to provide proof of up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations. See our COVID Safety page for more details.