Teenage cupid stealing hearts online

A near-naked, teenage Maori cupid from an Auckland high school is stealing hearts online, after a group of students posted their Valentine's Day video to Facebook.

Junior New Zealand Weightlifting Champion Montel Tivoli features in the clip from Rutherford College, filmed to promote February 14, when students sell roses as a fundraiser at the school.

Deputy principal Judy Farrar said initially, the clip was just for internal use, but it proved so popular in assembly the prefects decided to post it to Facebook - where it now has 4000 "likes" and counting.

It stars Montel as the Maori Cupid, with prefect Mary Clarke and deputy head boy Jachin Rahui as love-struck teenagers who are struck by a "love croc".

"We can't believe how many views it's had." Mrs Farrar said. "But it's great to show the world who we are at Rutherford."

Mrs Farrar said selling roses was both a fundraiser and a fun way to build a family feeling at the school. Students sold them every year and it was always a popular day.

The video was shot last week, just before the school found out it had gained some excellent NCEA results, including 41 scholarships.

Mrs Farrar said the students had joked that if they'd known the results sooner, they would have found a way to feature them in the video to share the good news as well as a funny clip.