TV presenter Olly Ohlson | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

For those of us who grew up in the 1980s the name Olly Ohlson is legendary.

Ohlson, now 60, was the host of the popular children's television programme After School, the forerunner to today's Sticky TV and Studio 2.

Each weekday thousands of children around the country would come home from school, dump their bags, and tune in to watch cartoons and sing along with Ohlson while he played catchy tunes on his guitar.

He even penned the phrase "keep cool 'til after school", a phrase that was widely used in children's circles ? and he taught us to do it in sign language!

But all that ended when Ohlson, a qualified teacher, left the show in after six years in 1986 after TVNZ decided not to renew his contract. He was replaced by Jason Gunn.

Although admitting to being a bit peeved at the time, Ohlson said he does not miss the show and has had plenty to occupy himself since.

"Different things excite me now, especially with the return of the teaching of Te Reo Maori," he said.

The father of five said he returned to teaching briefly, did some counselling work mainly for the Family Court and did some teaching at Christchurch Polytechnic.

However, he is now working for Te Whananga o Aotearoa, the University of New Zealand.

"I'm training people who are wanting to teach the Maori language or who are wanting to teach using core Maori values in the way they do things," he said

He is also working with violent offenders at Paparua Prison. He has been a volunteer visitor to prisons since 1963 but became a paid employee about four years ago.

"I take the violent inmates through a Maori way of looking at their behaviour," he said.

"The prisoners respond really well. Some guys are still coming to my sessions and they seem to be okay with it. The ones who have gone out (of prison) have stayed out but I'm not na?ve enough to think my programme did that. But I can claim to have played some part in it!"

Ohlson said he loves his work at the prison "and those guys really appreciate any little thing that's done for them."

Ohlson also does some work for Christchurch City Libraries, promoting Maori children's books.

"It's to get parents interested in reading as well as children. If you can get parents to make a habit of reading books the children will follow."