Children cooked Japanese food, participated in traditional games and wore a variety of colourful clothing as part of the “Great Grasmere Matsuri” which showcased the dedicated work of pupils during the past school year.

Japanese teacher Anne Robertson said a matsuri is a festival commonly held around Japan at different times of the year but usually in conjunction with some other festive occasion.

She said the pupils prepared a range of food for the occasion including sushi, savoury pancakes and a Japanese-style fried rice.

“We had a parade of omikoshi which are portable shrines designed and decorated by the students,” Mrs Robertson said. 

“Traditional festival clothing, known in Japanese as happi, was also worn. It’s a great way of celebrating Japanese culture in a fun way.”