A NORTH Yorkshire school has been helping students explore Indian culture this week.

Richmond School - which won the Government's permission to develop as a centre for the performing arts earlier this year - began a two-day study of Indian culture yesterday. The study included visits by traditional artists who were invited to the school.

Workshops with dancer Dr Swati focused on classical Indian dance to the modern beat of Bhangra, while Shahbah Hussain led drumming lessons with tabla, used in both traditional and contemporary music.

"With Indian culture so much in the media at the moment, it is right for us to explore the continent's vast culture," said the school's director of performing arts, Richard Jones.

"Our year eight students all visit a Hindu temple as part of their religious studies course anyway, but we see all the arts as very important subjects - not only for their own sake, but also for the ways in which they can support learning in so many other ways.

"Such work will be very much a feature of school life when we become a specialist performing arts school in September."