Sergeant Tyron Wall, of Dunedin, said he would be leading a group of about 35 police officers from Dunedin and Invercargill in an Armed Offenders exercise at Cromwell College on Tuesday.
The action would begin at 4pm and finish about 7pm, Sgt Wall said.
"There will be multiple role players ... and a large portion of them may be students and staff from the college."
Two exercises would be running — one at the college and another at the racecourse off Ripponvale Rd. Police officers would be moving between both venues at the start and completion of the exercises, he said.
Residents should not be concerned at seeing a lot of police vehicles, along with officers dressed in black and carrying tactical equipment.
Live ammunition would not be used in any of the scenarios, he said.
Police training signage would be placed outside Cromwell College while the exercise was taking place and police tape and cones would cordon off some areas of the school. Police training staff will be wearing high-vis vests during the training scenario.
It would be the first time a live training exercise had been held in Central Otago, Sgt Wall said.
