John Lewis

"At the moment, I'm experiencing equal amounts of terror and excitement," Waitati School's new principal, Heidi Hayward, says.

No money? No worries. It seems there is such a thing as a "free lunch" in Dunedin after all.

Any event in which gun-toting cowboys fill children "full of chocolate" has got to be a winner.

The rolls of nearly half of Dunedin's schools have slipped to their lowest or second lowest level in a decade, despite rolls across the region marginally increasing.

It is a simple product that is really going places, particularly into growing spaces.

Dunedin school and two Invercargill schools are believed to have refused to implement the Ministry of Education's National Standards, and the New Zealand School Trustees Association has warned the schools' boards of trustees could be sacked unless they comply.

A group of Government, Dunedin City Council and Dunedin business representatives, established to win some of the construction work on the $500 million tender for Auckland's trains, has widened its scope to encompass all of Dunedin's engineering firms.

They ran in at speed, they let out high-pitched squeals - a few hardy blokes included - then they turned around and ran out again.

"She was something quite different - she was special."

For Finn Butler, musical inspiration can be stirred, or even shaken, from almost anywhere.

Imagine this: a swarm of tiny robots scooting around containing and collecting spilt oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

What lies beneath the murky surface of Tomahawk Lagoon came as a pleasant surprise to Tahuna Normal Intermediate pupils doing a "fishy stock-take".

On the outside, it is just another big rig.

Former world champion cyclist Alison Shanks made a quick stop at her old school in Dunedin to provide some inspiration before heading off overseas to begin training for the 2012 Olympics.

Macandrew Intermediate School's Board of Trustees will meet next week to reassess its position in its battle against the Ministry of Education's National Standards.

A Dunedin secondary school pupil is just one business proposal away from representing New Zealand in the 2010 Asia Pacific Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge, in Singapore.

When you are accepted to study for a master's degree in three of the world's top music schools, how do you pick one? For Dunedin viola player Helen Bevin, the job prospects tipped her in favour of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Nearly 600 pupils forming 22 choirs from 17 secondary schools in Otago and South Canterbury, add up to the largest secondary schools choral festival the region has hosted.