Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati visits Sharples School

The actress, who played Sunita Alahan on the hit soap, was invited to Sharples School to celebrate International Mother Language Day.

To mark the day, classes were themed to promote different languages and celebrate cultural diversity through different activities planned for pupils.

These included a international-themed “pass-the-parcel” lessons in Cossack and Bollywood dancing, which Shobna led, as well as finding out about the origins of henna painting, Indian festivals and Indian Independence.

All departments took part in the day including the IT department organising an international murder mystery in French, Spanish and German.

Bilingual students showed off their linguistic skills and the school’s language ambassadors, appointed to promote the importance of learning different languages, helped with the activities.

Shobna said: “It was a brilliant day working with the pupils in dance with live musical percussion and flute — we had a lot of fun.

“Pupils got to learn about the language of Indian classical and folk dance and practised some rhythmic ‘bols’.

In the process they also got some insider knowledge on all things ‘celebrity’.”

The school said Shobna was the perfect visitor because she can speak a number of different languages.

Headteacher Rachel Quesnel said: “At Sharples, we are proud of the cultural diversity that we embrace in our learning community and were delighted to host this exciting event at school.”

Erika Frame, co-ordinator of Spanish, added: “We celebrated International Mother Language Day in spectacular style this year and were really honoured to have Shobna’s support.

“As she speaks more than one language, Shobna is also the perfect ambassador for a day which acknowledges linguistic ability and cultural diversity.

“With all the activities that took place, from pupils teaching their own mother language to their peers to Cossack dancing, it was a true showcase of the many talents that exist within the school.”