Tie-up to help private school teach more students Mandarin

Bradford Chinese School has moved into a new base at Bradford Grammar where it will 
be giving Mandarin lessons at weekends to more than 30 
pupils.

The heads of both schools say the move will further boost the teaching of Mandarin in future.

Bradford Chinese School was set up in 2011 and now has 33 pupils aged between four and 14.

Its head Jeff Zhao told the Yorkshire Post that being given premises at Bradford Grammar School would allow it to expand.

He said the school has a mixed intake with children of parents from China and Hong Kong, mixed couples and British children whose parents had worked in China and wanted their children to learn Mandarin.

Mr Zhao said he believed the demand for the language would increase as China’s economy expanded and said the school was keen to teach it to anyone who wanted to learn it.

“It is possible for children to learn Mandarin who have no experience of it but there needs to be support from the school and the parents,” he added.

“They could not do it with just the two hours at a weekend.”

Bradford Chinese School says it also wants to work with the Leeds Confucius Institute which opened at Leeds University last year, to help promote the teaching of the language.

Bradford Grammar headmaster Kevin Riley said the school was delighted to host Bradford Chinese School.

He added: “I have worked in the Far East and I am keen to increase our global outreach.

“It is good for Bradford Grammar School and good for Bradford.”

He said the move could help the school to develop GCSE teaching in Mandarin.

“We have very successful teaching of Russian and Japanese and you can see that the next language is Mandarin.

“We are delighted to be working with a community where there is excellent teaching of the language.”

Bradford Chinese School is helping to celebrate the Chinese New Year with an event on Saturday at Bradford Grammar School’s dining hall.