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We are the experts. The only UK organization just to teach children Chinese.

How are Chinese children different?

On day one I was shocked by the dedication of the students.

Chinese children spend countless hours in the classroom, arriving at around 6am and leaving at about 10pm with just a few breaks in between for food and exercise.

All students are unanimously focused on the Gao Kao, the final year exam taken to get into university.

Particularly for students from the countryside, such as these, it is their only way out. Securing a place at a good university is synonymous with securing a comfortable life later and the curriculum seems entirely geared towards it.

Learning the correct answer to write on the exam paper is more highly prized than encouraging independent thought
An education in Chinese schooling

A parent's view of Chinese immersion schools for children

Why do we need a Chinese language immersion school in the Eugene School District?

What country is said to be destined to become the largest English-speaking nation in the world? Hint: It’s the same country that has bought $1 trillion of American debt and boasts a trade surplus of hundreds of billions of dollars with us year after year. Yes, China!

While America confronts record national debt and trade deficits, a too thinly stretched military, a battered middle class and plummeting world prestige, China enjoys an exploding economy, a modernizing military, a burgeoning middle class and growing world prestige.

"[At] no time in the history of Chinese international schools has there been such a dynamic and explosive growth

of international schools as what’s happening here in China right now," Frerking said.Students enrolled in these facilities receive educations equivalent to elite private schools in the United States and Europe in part because they are modeled on predominately British and American curriculums, offering both International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs. Students also generally come from affluent families who emphasize the importance of education.

International schools in Asia mostly began as small facilities intended for the children of diplomats or missionaries. However, as economic expansion attracted multinational businesses to Asia, the number of students in international schools rose dramatically. These facilities have now evolved into centers for expatriate communities and are vital tools for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Confucius classrooms a success for Chinese children

Exec Director, Tsutsui, said learning about China gives children an advantage.

“Parents realize now that to prepare their students for the future, Chinese is a really great thing to have and it sets them apart, it gives them a little leg up that they need,” he said.

..it is just as likely to be Scottish children taking part in the Chinese classes...

City youngsters learn the future's language

The undulating, rhythmic sound of children's voices belting out unfamiliar words and a distinctly oriental tune resonates through the classrooms and down the corridors of an otherwise deserted secondary school.

It is Saturday, and most of the rooms at Drummond Community High School are closed for the weekend. But nearly 200 students – mostly Chinese, but a surprising number of them native Scots – are there to learn one of the trickiest yet most widely spoken languages in the world.

For while the Edinburgh Chinese School has traditionally been a seat of learning for the children of Chinese families in the city, now it is just as likely to be Scottish children taking part in the classes, getting to grips with the complex tones and structure of Mandarin and Cantonese.

"In the past five years there has been a rising number of Scottish people coming to the school," confirms Edinburgh Chinese School headteacher, Kathy Miller.

"Most of them are simply interested in China and its culture. However, there are also many who want to study the languages for business purposes, and there are a number of parents who are very keen for their children to learn the language, because they are aware that China's future is blooming."

More schools offer Chinese to children.

More schools teach Chinese

MASON - China's expanding global reach is taking hold in the classrooms of Greater Cincinnati as more schools are offering courses to teach Chinese.

And some schools are reaching halfway around the world to learn more about Chinese language and culture - and to recruit teachers.

Next school year, the Mason school district will join a small but growing list of area schools adding Chinese to the traditional menu of Spanish, French and German offered at most public schools.

"We are very excited to be able to offer this," said Nicole Huelsman, an assistant principal at Mason High School. "With China accounting for about 21 percent of the world's population, it is necessary to look in this direction."

The Mayor wants children to learn Mandarin so they can develop business links with China.

I'll help London Mayor to solve China crisis

A PRIMARY head is set to help the Mayor of London out of a China crisis.

Don Berry of St Paul’s in Withington is to advise Ken Livingstone on how to take Chinese into the capital’s classrooms.

The Mayor wants to see pupils given the opportunity to learn Mandarin so they can develop business links with one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

But faced with the headache of how to get the project off the ground he is being put in touch with Mr Berry, whose school has been hailed as a model for teaching Chinese to young pupils.

Education minister Ed Balls has promised to set up the meeting between the pair after a chance meeting with Mr Berry at a Labour Party fundraiser in Didsbury this week.

It came just days after the London Mayor had revealed his plans to the minister over a dinner at the Shepherd’s restaurant on Marsham Street, Westminster.

Mr Balls told the Reporter: "Ken said he wanted children in London to learn Chinese because today’s pupils are tomorrow’s business leaders and he thinks it is vital to improve links with China. He told me that he thinks it’s important for the growth of London’s economy to forge closer ties with China.

A book of traditional Chinese stories has been created by pupils and parents at Edinburgh's Chinese Community School.

Chinese school brings in new year with book on culture
Marking the beginning of the Year of the Rat, the book is designed to encourage children to learn more about Chinese culture and promote family values.

The text is in Mandarin and Pinyin, which helps teach Mandarin pronunciation, as well as English.

Mark Tang, chairman of the Edinburgh Chinese Community School, which is based in Liberton, said: "We are delighted to be able to develop and distribute this book to our pupils in our language classes.

"We hope that it will help young children to learn more about Chinese culture and virtues with its collection of short stories and illustrations and, ultimately, help them to develop their Mandarin language studies."

The book was created with planning and printing help from Telford College, and funding from City Literacy and Numeracy Edinburgh.

But Mandarin Chinese is set to become the second most popular foreign language learned in UK schools.

It is already studied by more children than German or Russian. Only French and Spanish are more popular. If the rate of growth continues it will overtake Spanish in three years. Gareth from Wales, says 'I am learning Chinese, and find it fun.' Another student, Thomas from London, says 'Just telling people that I learn Mandarin turns heads. Even a basic insight gives you an edge.'