John Lewis

Green Island School principal Steve Hayward reckons there is something in the water in Green Island.

An Otago Girls' High School pupil has reached the national final of the Alliance Francaise Concours Oral with a chance of winning a trip to New Caledonia.

In a day fraught with political controversy, Prime Minister John Key appeared to be at relative ease during yesterday's 2014 Otago Daily Times Class Act awards, basking in the glow of Otago's top secondary school achievers.

One of the great Kiwi battlers is planning to have another go at becoming the oldest man to circumnavigate the globe solo on a yacht.

Ministry of Education has called for tenders to carry out a $2 million development of parts of Otago Boys' High School - some of which have not been touched since the 1960s.

Kaikorai Valley College has been split in two. In a bid to attract more year 7 and 8 pupils to the college, the school had been changed to a junior college (year 7 and 8 pupils) and a senior college (year 9-13) this year, deputy principal John Downes said.

Fairfield School provided a taste of Maori culture last week when 10 schools and a kindergarten took part in the Taieri Schools Kaupapa Maori Festival Hui Ako.

Alex Leckie-Zaharic did not let ''arthritis'' get in the way of him winning a major regional competition in Dunedin yesterday.

The driver of a four-wheel-drive vehicle was lucky to walk away with minor injuries after crashing on Three Mile Hill at the weekend, Dunedin police say.

Progressive Enterprises has confirmed it plans to go ahead with a multimillion-dollar supermarket development in Green Island.

In the distance, Natasha O'Brien could hear her miniature Jack Russell barking.

When Jenny McDonald came to the Taieri 45 years ago as part of a ''wee look'' around New Zealand, the last thing she expected to do was get married and still be there today.

Waitati School hopes to capitalise on the 2000 annual sunshine hours that gleam down on Otago each year by installing solar panels to generate its own electricity.

East Taieri School is looking even lusher and greener than usual after being given $1000 of native trees to plant on school grounds.

A Logan Park High School pupil will not travel to Jerusalem for the World Science Conference this month after its organisers advised it is too dangerous to attend.

Silverstream School pupils are on their marks and set to go for the Taieri school sports cross-country event next week.

Jacobi Kohu-Morris is not even old enough to vote yet, but that is not stopping the 17-year-old from having his say about the state of politics in New Zealand in front of some pretty high-profile politicians. John Lewis reports.