In the final part of our Future Auckland series, we aim to stimulate debate.

In part four of the Herald series on how to make Auckland better, we look at the pros and cons of health-care in New Zealand's biggest city.

In the third of our five-part Future Auckland series, we aim to stimulate debate.

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters has criticised the number of foreign students choosing to study here.

Auckland is a great place - but it can be even better. In the second of our five-part Future Auckland series we aim to stimulate debate. Teuila Fuatai reports.

Parents could save hundreds of thousands of dollars by skipping houses in elite school zones and paying to privately educate their kids elsewhere instead.

Most teachers and their unions don't seem to understand the rationale behind charter schools, writes Peter Lyons.

International student numbers have bounced back after years of decline, driving the value of the country's fifth largest export industry to $2.85 billion, says a report by Education New Zealand.

Some parents are being pushed into debt as a result of increased demands to shell out for digital devices for their children's schoolwork.

The cost of a 'free' education in NZ is $35,000 - and that's raised concerns some children won't return to school next week because their families can't afford it.

The rising cost of tertiary fees is reflected in the latest student loan borrowings figures released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand.

The value of uniforms has been hotly debated since at least since I was wearing the blue tunic required by Hastings Girls' High. Wearing a uniform didn't do me any harm.

One of New Zealand's first charter schools is failing, abysmally, and the Ministry of Education must stop dodging questions, writes Rose Patterson.

A natural outcome of a market economy must be inequality of incomes. They are a necessary and desirable outcome, writes Peter Lyons.

A wet morning with 23 preschoolers at Balmoral's Playcentre.

It didn't take Rahui Mosby's family long to learn about her outstanding NCEA results. "Mum was looking over my shoulder."

Word-lovers are being encouraged to ditch new coinages for long-lost words that may have fallen out of favour.

A group of British teenagers will be taught by Chinese teachers in a unique experiment for a BBC documentary.

Down a driveway in a modest house in Hamilton's university suburb is where the magic happens.

A new, generic school uniform range is being touted as a way to help parents reduce the cost of kids going back to class.

There are aspects of playing rugby that are not dissimilar to coaching. I believe in leading people by making sure that I have a connection with everyone I am involved with and giving them the trust and belief to do their job well.

If teachers were unpaid, they would be reluctant to do the job and, in the end, children would be worse off, writes Jamie Whyte. Yet the same goes for those who supply the capital.

If teacher performance is to be based on student assessments it is likely to be subject to numerous rorts and manipulations, writes Peter Lyons. It is also likely to narrow the focus of teaching to ensuring assessment results rather than broader learning.

Parents are being urged to encourage their children to read over the summer in light of research showing kids who forgo books while on holiday lose reading ability at alarming rates.

Fast food is already blamed for all sorts of health problems, from obesity to bad skin, and now a new study has found that it could actually slow down the brain.

Mick Jagger strolls into a pub in Russell and the patrons, though shocked, leave him alone. Wonder if they'd be the same with our own legend, Richie McCaw?...

The single most reliable indicator of future academic success is the number of books you have in your home when you grow up, writes Peter O'Connor.

A private boarding school's head of chemistry who wrote "disparaging" comments on student testimonials has been reinstated while an investigation is carried out.

A primary school relief teacher is on the naughty list with parents this Christmas after apparently casting doubt about Santa's authenticity...