Admitting he was gay on camera was a bold move for 16 year-old Troy, but he hopes it will help other teenagers be upfront about their sexuality.

Troy, who features in a television documentary series following the lives of nine Auckland students aged between 16 and 18, said while he had no problem revealing he was gay on film, his mother and boyfriend tried to talk him out of it.

"I wanted to [say] 'this is who I am, deal with it'. It's just a sex preference," he said.

Despite a three-hour round trip to Selwyn Colle,ge Troy chose to go there because students at his previous school hassled him about his sexuality.

Troy and his fellow Selwyn College students were captured by three camera crews over six months for the programme School Rules.

The situations they deal with during the series aren't out of the ordinary- the school ball, one girl's search for a boyfriend, the pressure of looming exams but producer Bettina Hollings says the programme will show viewers today's teens are more grown up than we think.

Talking openly in front of a camera was easy, said Troy, but the fact the results would soon appear on national television was "quite daunting". Fellow student and avid rollerskater Amber, 17, said her mother was also apprehensive. In the first episode, which screens on Tuesday on TV3, viewers see Amber move into her first flat.

Amber decided to attend Selwyn after some students at her former school started rumours she was on drugs. "I'm hyperactive. [It s hard] to be told that you're a druggie when you're trying your very hardest"