Gals will still outnumber guys at the Combined Colleges' formal tomorrow night, says Marlborough Girls' College head girl Olivia Sheat – but the gap may be closing.

In 2012, the biggest number of tickets in years had been sold to year 12 and 13 Boys' College students, she said.

The formal organising committee stopped selling tickets on Friday; with 422 sold to the Girls' College and 193 to the Boys'.

The annual formal is being held at the Marlborough Convention Centre, in Blenheim, at 7.30pm tomorrow.

Marlborough Girls' College deputy principal Jo Chamberlain said the students would have the day off school to prepare for the formal, which was one of the biggest events on the senior social calendar.

"In the past we've found, especially for the girls getting their hair and nails done and goodness knows what else, the best thing is to give them a day off."

Olivia said the organising committee had put hours of work into the formal, sorting out the venue, security, decorations, music and catering, as well as meeting once a week during the past few months to check on progress.

This year's circus theme was more about the decorations than the dress code, so it was unlikely anyone would arrive as a trapeze artist, she said.

Students arriving at the event would be greeted by the principals and head students of both schools.

Auckland DJ Ben Biggie G would provide a music mix of modern hits and old favourites.

Ms Chamberlain understood students were organising an after party.

"Obviously the colleges stress that the formal is the responsibility of colleges – we want to ensure that the focus is on the formal. But what happens after the formal is the responsibility of parents."

Both principals had also sent letters to parents to remind them of their and the schools' responsibilities.

Students at both colleges attended an assembly yesterday on safer socialising, when police, health providers and students talked about enjoying the night and keeping safe.

- The Marlborough Express

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