HUNTER students who have not yet had their school formals are in limbo, waiting to see if the events will go ahead this week.
As previously reported, Belmont High School told its families around 3pm on Tuesday that Noah's On The Beach was unable to host the year 12 formal that night.
Whitebridge High told its families on Tuesday the year 12 formal scheduled for Wednesday at Noah's would be held in the hall.
St Paul's Catholic College Booragul's year 12 formal at NEX has been moved from Tuesday to next February.
The Warners Bay High year 10 formal went ahead as planned on Wednesday at Newcastle City Hall.
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said that another formal scheduled for Thursday at City Hall would also go ahead.
Warners Bay student Dakota Kellar Bridgart, 16, was among those who gathered at Lake Macquarie for photos before a limo ride to the city.
"I'm very excited," she said.
"We were all texting this morning, saying 'I hope it does not get cancelled'," she said.
"Right at the beginning I was not planning on going, I was planning on going on exchange to a Scandinavian country, so it's nice to have this experience."
Dakota said students had missed socialising with each other and visiting friends in their homes.
"It's good to have the chance to get together and be able to talk to each other and have fun as a cohort," she said.
Dakota wore black trousers and a black corset top with a cream coloured jacket to the event.
"I'm not really a dress wearer, I wanted to do something different and had the idea for a while," she said.
"It feels great, I love it. As soon as I put it on I thought 'This is exactly what I wanted to do from day one'."
Maddison Farley, 16, said she felt "relieved" to attend the event, especially as it was the final farewell for some students leaving school.
"It's been a bit of a concern about whether it would be cancelled, but we're really happy it's going ahead and feeling very lucky as well."
She said her strapless cream dress was the first she tried on at Gorgeous Gowns and like nothing she'd seen before.
Irrawang High's Ellie Martin said her year 12 formal at Merewether Surfhouse was still going ahead on Thursday at time of publication.
But she said anything could happen in the next 24 hours.
Ellie's makeup artist has already had to cancel her appointment because of the outbreak.
She said Hunter River High's Thursday formal had been rescheduled.
"We just feel frustrated because everything [this year] has been cancelled, we're all over it now and want to move on with our lives," she said.
"It's annoying because it's so uncertain - we just don't know what's going to happen, so it's a massive waiting game."
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Merewether High's year 12 formal that was scheduled for NEX on Wednesday night was cancelled on Wednesday afternoon.
