Madonna attends Malawi school ceremony

Madonna has attended the start of construction at the girls' school in Malawi that her Raising Malawi charity is building.

The 51-year-old, who has adopted two children - David Banda and and Mercy James - from the Southern African country, arrived in the region on Sunday.

On Monday, she attended a tree planting and ribbon cutting ceremony and her adopted children were on hand for the presentation, BBC News reports.

"Growing up in a privileged life, I took education for granted, but coming to Malawi has taught me a lot of things and learnt to appreciate what life gives," Madonna said.

She added: "I realised how much they deserve to be educated and so for me the best thing I could do was to build a school, a unique school that will create future female leaders, scientists, lawyers and doctors.

"If this school is successful it will be used as a model to replicate it in other countries."

The school is expected to cost an estimated $15m (£9.2m), while construction on the academy is expected to take upwards of two years.

The singer had previously said that she planned to meet with Mercy James's father James Kambewa during her trip to Malawi, while the child's uncle Peter Baneti has expressed opposition to the visit.