The Mandarin Excellence Programme, which teaches the language to 8,000 pupils in schools across England, will have its funding renewed in August for a further year, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is to announce.
The scheme was set up by David Cameron’s government in 2015 and had cost the government around £4.1m a year, with schools given £20,000 each to provide the lessons, delivered by University College London.
Baroness Coussins, a crossbench peer and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on modern languages, raised concerns to the Foreign Secretary about the possible axeing of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, adding: “I hope you will make the views and the needs of the FCDO known to the DfE [Department for Education] before it makes a decision that would be a very backward-looking one if the Mandarin Excellence Programme were to be cut.”
“That is what makes Mandarin hugely important to invest in at this time. I cannot emphasise that enough, and of course I emphasise it to my colleagues.”
As part of the programme’s “enrichment” activities, children learning Mandarin visit China, usually during Year 9, to help them with their language skills and learn more about the culture.
Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds on the scheme will still have their flights to the country paid for.
“The scheme has been carefully monitored and evaluated and has been shown to be a beacon of excellence which really shows what British pupils can achieve in language learning when they have a well-funded, well supported programme of study,” she said.
Coussins, who is co-chair of The All Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages, said she had met with a group of pupils and was “very impressed by their achievement and enjoyment of the language”.
Katharine Carruthers, strategic director of the programme at UCL, said the programme is in its ninth year with more than 16,000 students having participated.
“The programme impacts on students’ personal development in building confidence, resilience and critical thinking. It gives them a unique opportunity to experience another culture and to achieve excellence which would otherwise be out of reach.
Insiders said renewing the scheme was part of the government’s wider efforts to boost the UK’s China engagement capability, and helping the UK to “manage the risks and opportunities of our relationship with China in the UK’s interest”.
This reset comes amid concerns over the security risk posed by China. This week former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove told The i Paper that the use of Chinese technology in the UK’s wind farms, solar panels and electric cars could threaten national security.
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