Pupils at Trannack School, near Helston, have been discovering a taste for all things oriental, thanks to a Japanese visitor who is spending several months working at the school.

Shiho Tamura, a 31-year-old legal secretary from Yokohama, near Toyko, has been teaching the children the basics of the Japanese language, as well as getting them interested in origami and Japanese food and music.

Trannack headteacher Dave Finney said Shiho was the sixth visitor from Japan who had come to the school through an "internship" programme.

"It is extremely valuable for cultural purposes," he said. "Having someone in the school who brings a wealth of information from somewhere the children will probably never go is a real asset."

For her part, Shiho has been enjoying her time at Trannack, and in "beautiful Cornwall", so much she is hoping to stay until the end of the summer term - longer than originally planned.

And the visit has radically changed her outlook on life too.

"Before I came here I didn't want to have children," she said. "Now I do."

To furnish herself with another lasting reminder of Cornwall, Shiho is planning to take part in a charity bungee jump event taking place at Porthleven Football Club this weekend.

She is already well on the way to raising the £140 needed to throw herself 170ft off a crane in aid of the St Teresa's Cheshire Home at Marazion and, surprisingly, is looking forward to the experience!