Wakatipu High School board of trustees representative Caleb Dawson-Swale (17, left) with head boy Max Gunn (17), community and service council chairwoman Tessa Hughes (17) and "town crier" Tom Roughan (17) at the school on Friday. Photo by Tracey Roxburgh.

Some sausages, bread, tomato sauce and a red and black themed day at Wakatipu High School on Friday raised about $2500 for the Red Cross Christchurch earthquake appeal.

Tessa Hughes (17), who is chairwoman of the school community and service council, said a group of the school's senior pupils began to organise the day soon after the earthquake on February 22.

"Everybody was just devastated and this is the [least] we could do down here," she said.

The group obtained 250 sausages from the Arrowtown Butchery and fired up the barbecue twice on Friday, selling them for $3 each, along with drinks and home-made baking to boost the fundraising.

All the school's pupils contributed to the gold coin mufti day and some gave as much as $20.

"It's amazing," Tessa said.