A CONTEMPLATIVE nun sits cross-legged in a meditation room in front of an elaborate golden shrine laden with offerings to Buddha.

The 26-year-old is studying the teachings of Gelshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, founder of the Kadampa Tradition of Mahayan Buddhism, at the Tara Centre in Derbyshire.

The reformed clubber from Preston introduced herself to a group of Year 11 students from John Port secondary in Etwall, as Kelsang Chondzom, meaning Fortunate One. Following sniggers from the back row, some questioned just how fortunate a woman without a boyfriend, committed to studying could be.

More questions flowed as they stared at her shaved head and red and orange robes, ranging from: “Are you allowed to listen to music like Eminem?” and “How did your family react?” to “How do you manage without television?” After the session, Chondzom said: “It’s good for them to have an awareness of the world around them and the effect of their actions on other people because at that age you are so focused on yourself and having a party.”

The Tara Centre moved from Cumbria into Ashe Hall, a former special needs school, four years ago. It houses 35 Buddhists, seven of whom are ordained. It aims to introduce children to such concepts as nirvana, reincarnation, meditation and karma. More than 4,000 pupils, mostly from Years 8 and 11, have filed through the doors.

And some have returned for further lessons, though none, apparently, have taken up Buddhism seriously.

Jerome Peat, religious education teacher at the local school in Etwall, has been taking 16-year-olds to the centre since 1997 as part of the lifestyle unit of the RE syllabus. He said: “It can have a calming effect because they come back into school with a different perspective.

“We get them to think about why people are prepared to give up personal relationships and the acquisition of wealth because of their religious beliefs.”

Year 8 pupils from the Chase Terrace high school, in Burntwood, Staffordshire, were enraptured by the sounds of Buddhist chanting on their first visit. But Jayden Cooper, 12, a pupil with special needs, was less enthusiastic. He said: “It’s a bit weird to have to shave your head and it’s not very good to give things up. How can you enjoy yourself?” Of meditation, he said: “It’s a bit difficult to get rid of any thoughts because you are thinking when you are trying not to think.”

But even if the young visitors don’t remember the tenets of Buddhism, the parting comment of schools visits co-ordinator Jonathan Harris will stick in their heads: “When you get home tonight don’t forget to offer to do the washing up for your mother!” For more information on the centre and the five others in the country visit www.taracentre.org.uk