A Pride Parade at Mount Aspiring College in Wānaka last Friday was called out by fellow pupils and was the subject of homophobic calls.
The parade has been criticised in a social media thread initiated by a Wanaka businessman.
The Otago Daily Times contacted a parent of one of the pupils who helped organise the parade, who asked not to be named.
The parent said pupils were aware of, upset by and talking about the social media posts.
Parade participants reported being yelled at by other school pupils and being called "sick".
When the pupil expressed regret for helping organise the parade, the parent responded: "Don’t think like that, I am proud of you".
Both the parent and the pupil have friends in the gay community and were proud to support them.
"Going after the kids like that is just not fair," the parent said.
The pupil said the parade was meant to bring the school together and show people could be whoever they want to be.
"There was a lot of homophobia, which was not great," the pupil said.
The parent said the pupils were beginning to feel a lot better now they realised other people cared about them and the opinions expressed on social media were "not the normal opinion".
College principal Nicola Jacobsen said yesterday she was aware of the social media thread and had reported it to Netsafe and Facebook and informed the school board of trustees.
A parent had contacted the college about Pride Week and the Pride Parade, she said.
"Any comments or concerning behaviours that occurred on the Friday are being followed up, as per our concerns process.
"The Pride Parade went ahead on Friday on the college field, and those students who wanted to be involved were able to do so.
"Staff were on duty to support the pupils and some students were spoken to at the time.
"There were a small number of students involved. The police have not been involved."
Ms Jacobsen said she did not not want to draw attention to the social media post.
