Plans to train 1,000 more Mandarin teachers for secondary schools in England were announced this week to coincide with prime minister David Cameron’s high-profile visit to China. Eduation secretary Michael Gove said the joint programme between the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and Hanban (the Confucius Institute Headquarters) will run over the next five years. There are currently around 100 qualified Mandarin teachers in England and 16 per cent of secondary schools offered Chinese language teaching in 2009.
