The Queenstown Lakes District Council has installed 40kmh "school zone" signs outside the school as part of ongoing work to improve safety.
Signs have been placed in Gladstone Rd, Kane Rd and Camp Hill Rd.
Principal Sue Heath said she was unsure how long the school had been asking for lower speed limits but it had not been a short process.
Concerns about the speed of vehicles passing the school had been an issue since she started as principal 17 years ago.
Motorists now have to slow to 40kmh around the school when pupils are present.
Road signs telling motorists they were passing a school had always been in place but they did not state a speed limit, Mrs Heath said.
Council senior engineer Andrew Edgar said the council had only recently become aware the New Zealand Transport Authority had approved 40kmh school-zone signs.
The council then ordered and installed the signs.
Lowering of the speed limit in Kane Rd had been considered by the council as part of its regular speed-limit review process, but it did not meet the criteria for a permanent reduction, Mr Edgar said.
