Cambridge High School students (from left) Chiara Woodford (who won cutest couple with Ben Bonetti), ball queen Neve Keightley, best dressed winner Eden Bennett, princess Jasgin Lopena and king Alex Coston. Brady Mitchell was voted prince and Daniel Plant the hottest single.
Stephanie Vervoort described the buzz among year 12 and 13 Cambridge High School students as “massive” before Saturday night’s school ball.
Talking to The News last Friday, the teacher spoke about how the students were preparing for one of the biggest social events of the year.
“There are a lot of spray tans out there today,” she said. “There’s a lot of hype around it.”
On the night itself, in the Sir Don Rowlands Centre at Lake Karāpiro, attendees scanned QR codes posted around the venue to select their ball winners.
The year 13 king and queen of the ball were Alex Coston and Neve Keightley, year 12 prince and princess, Brady Mitchell and Jasgin Lopena, cutest couple, Ben Bonetti and Chiara Woodford while Daniel Plant won the hottest single.
Stephanie, the school’s teacher in charge of health, said students were allowed to bring partners of any gender and wear whatever they wished, as long as they dressed in formal attire.
“For students who cannot afford the cost, our school has some great processes in place and support from the Lions Foundation which allows them to still attend the ball, which is fantastic,” she said.
She and commerce teacher Jeff East teamed up to organise this year’s ball with “incredible” support from the student celebration committee, which helped to choose and book vendors.
When it was all over students were transported home to drop-off points at Cambridge High School and Leamington by bus.
Students were required to sign a form declaring they would not attend after-ball parties as a requirement of entry.
Year 13 student Jorja Wright said it had been a “great, fun night where everyone looked amazing”.
“The venue looked stunning and everything was perfect,” she said.
Taupo company Event Rent rolled out the red carpet for this year’s theme, ‘A Feel of Fame’, aimed at creating a touch of “1920s old school Hollywood glamour” with a chandelier, clapperboards, Oscar statues and feather boa table decorations.
Hamilton event catering company Edible Solutions provided the food – a selection of canapés including mini cheeseburgers, pork belly bao buns and Vietnamese rice paper rolls – and the Lil Orbits food truck served up donuts for dessert.
