We are delighted that our Year 7 Mandarin class will be commencing their second year of the Mandarin Excellence Programme in Year 8 having all successfully completed their first year of intensive study culminating in outstanding outcomes in the Hurdle Tests.

The programme is an intensive language programme, funded the Department for Education, which will see at least 5,000 school pupils in England on track to fluency in Mandarin Chinese by 2020. Participating schools – with support from UCL Institute of Education and the British Council – are at the forefront of delivering the programme and funding is available to support successful delivery.

Students on the programme are studying eight hours of Mandarin Chinese a week – including four hours of classroom taught lessons – with selected groups of pupils beginning from Year 7.

By working towards achieving a very high level of Mandarin Chinese, students on the programme are being given an unprecedented opportunity in terms of language provision in schools in England.

In being the most widely spoken language in the world, Mandarin Chinese is one of the most important languages for the UK’s future – young people on the programme will be getting a head start in life by mastering this vital skill at an early stage.