SCHOOLCHILDREN embraced oriental culture with karate, calligraphy and ornately-painted crockery.

Pupils at Harwell Primary School created their own Japanese exhibition after being inspired by a school trip to The Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums in Oxford.

The year six children learnt about the importance of the tea ceremony in Japan and each painted their own tea plate, as part of a wider programme to teach them about the country’s language and culture.

Teacher Oana Shorter said: “The project has enhanced the teaching and learning. It has helped us to reinforce our core values of resilience, respect, resourcefulness and responsibility and our school ethos of respect, tolerance and understanding of different cultures.”

They learnt about calligraphy and chatted to pupils in Japan via video calls.

The school also secured a grant from The Japan Foundation, which paid for karate classes for pupils from a black-belt instructor.