Rufford Park Primary: Leeds school's surprise at finding stowaway frog that travelled thousands of miles from Africa

The amphibian was found at Rufford Park Primary School this week by five-year-old pupil Willow and the discovery has given teachers and students a spring in their step.

Headteacher David Cooke said: “When our reception children reached into the fruit bowl for a banana on Monday morning, I don’t think any of us could have imagined what would follow."

Amphibian experts were contacted by the school and identified the creature as an African Reed frog that may have arrived hidden in a bunch of bananas from the Ivory Coast. Since the discovery, the school has been featured on the BBC and Heart Radio.

Mr Cooke said: "When I first heard about our little frog friend, I assumed that it had come in from outside and not all the way from the Ivory Coast. It has generated so much excitement in school and the wider community and I am very proud of the children and staff who have been involved in our moment in the spotlight.”

He said that the frog was first spotted by Willow as it hopped away from the fruit bowl and landed in a nearby bin. The staff soon came to the rescue and made a small home for it in an old candy floss tub.

Mr Cooke said: “The children were engrossed in making up their stories of how the Reed frog managed to get into the classroom whilst the staff started to investigate in earnest. We knew the bananas had come from the Ivory Coast but the identification of the Reed frog was harder and correspondence with the National Centre for Reptile Welfare helped us with this.

"There was an offer to come and collect the little fella but one of our members of staff – administrator Frankii Greenwood – asked if she could keep it as a pet and this is what she has done. Frankii has been in contact with the National Centre for Reptile Welfare and has a number to phone or text if she has any questions about how to look after it properly.”