Emergency services closed off part of a busy road in Mangere, South Auckland, after a gas main was ruptured by a digger.

Radical changes are needed to New Zealand's schooling model to stop the success of wealthy schools at the expense of the poor, education experts say.

In Papakura, in Auckland's south, crime and gangs are a regular feature of many students' lives and can affect their education.

Students at Papakura High School are striving to change the community's perception of their school, one of the country's most disadvantaged.

Learn more about The Rising Foundation, a charity helping students from schools like those in Under The Bridge, the Herald's documentary project.

Auckland Council are promising singletons they will never be alone again if they adopt a dog from one of the three Auckland Council animal shelters in Silverdale, Henderson and Manukau.

Papakura High School has a falling roll, and as far as results go, it's among the worst schools in the country. But there is hope.

In this video, school staff including principal John Rohs discuss the impact of a variety of social issues on the students.

Melevesi's song Under The Bridge was recorded at BigPop studios this year for the Herald film of the same name, about a year inside Papakura High School.

A team of journalists spent a year inside one of the country's most underprivileged schools filming the Herald's first long-form documentary.

Three students are completing their final year at the beleaguered Papakura High School.

At the edge of the city and the margins of society a school and its students are battling for a brighter future. This is the story of a year inside their world.

Under The Bridge marks the New Zealand Herald's first foray into long-form documentary making.

The owners of Sammy, also known as Sergio, say they stopped counting when the vet bill reached $6000.

A person is in a critical condition in hospital after a serious crash in South Auckland this afternoon.

Increased police numbers are good, as long as violent and anti-social crimes are targeted, bashing victim says.

Firefighters are attending a small scrub fire on the side of Auckland's Southern Motorway this afternoon.

New figures from all 280 bus services around Auckland show the percentage of time each service arrives within five minutes of its scheduled arrival.

School children will be tested for hepatitis and HIV today after they were treated with potentially contaminated dental equipment.

Troubled schools: A school where teachers were allegedly given "illegal" payments is one of nine under Government control.

A woman passenger is this morning still fighting for her life after a South Auckland police pursuit on Saturday night

Police have named the driver of the car who was killed after leading them on a high-speed chase in South Auckland, and identified a woman passenger.

A car fleeing police careered through an intersection at up to 120km/h before ploughing into an SUV and killing the speeding vehicle's driver.

One person has died and five others are injured after a car fleeing police crashed in South Auckland.

Holiday traffic is set to build from 9am as Aucklanders make a break for the regions.

Emergency services were called to the crash at the intersection of Lenore and Gadsby roads in Favona about 9.20pm.

The collective value of the two homes soared $550,000 in less than a week.

More police will patrol the Manukau city centre after a man was beaten on Monday evening.

Auckland Transport worker attacked by a group of up to 10 teens.

What has possessed Auckland Transport to contemplate putting their intercity bus terminal at Manukau?