Following the visit of the Arctic walrus, fee-paying Scarborough College received more than 40 “international enquiries from people who have seen Scarborough on the TV” according to a councillor.

The large mammal was the subject of widespread attention on social media, in the press, and in international news.

The animal’s sojourn in Scarborough Harbour led the council to cancel its New Year’s Eve fireworks display out of concern for the welfare of the creature which was travelling home towards the Arctic.

Speaking at a full meeting of Scarborough Council on Monday, January 16, Coun Guy Smith said: “I’d like to mention something that happened on New Year’s Eve, the arrival of a certain walrus in the harbour who gave us tremendous publicity.

“I’d like to think if we can book ‘Thor’ for every Christmas and New Year’s Eve that would be fantastic, bearing in mind the number of people on the seafront on that particular day.”

Coun Smith added: “And were you aware that Scarborough College has actually had 41 international enquiries from people who have seen Scarborough on the TV?

“They’ve all been really taken in with it all and they want to bring their children to be educated here.”

Coun Steve Siddons, leader of the council, said: “I’m not sure that was a question, Coun Smith, more of a statement, but I completely agree with you.

“I was personally overwhelmed with interest from it and I’ve had emails from as far afield as Washington, Nova Scotia, other parts of America, and Australia.

“Of all the things that we have done in this borough over the last few years, I never really expected the appearance of a walrus to overtake all the great work that has been done.

“But nevertheless, as they say, any publicity is good publicity.”

However, Scarborough College told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it could not comment on admissions numbers but welcomed the publicity.

A spokesperson for the school said: “Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any information about our ongoing admissions, numbers of admission or – indeed – any campaigns that may or may not have temporarily increased our admissions numbers.

“I can confirm that Thor the walrus was world news, as some of our current overseas boarding students reported seeing their town on the news in their country.

“As Scarborough isn’t often world news, this was quite a nice thing to happen over Christmas, while our overseas students were home.”

Scarborough College is an independent day and boarding school which has pupils spanning more than 21 different nationalities. Founded in 1901, it has a historic reputation for producing professional cricketers, and teaches the International Baccalaureate instead of A Levels.

Thor the walrus: Private school Scarborough College receives surge in interest from families after Arctic animal's visit