Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP)

Having joined in September 2022, Penrice Academy is the only school in Cornwall to offer the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), an intensive curriculum offering in which settings must be rated Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ with strong performance in Modern Foreign Languages to be eligible to deliver.

Pushing the most academically able

Mandarin is the second most widely spoken language in the world and is an official language of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore. The language connects speakers with an exciting and dynamic culture as well as boosting career opportunities in an increasing world of global business.

This 5-year course is an ambitious, accelerated programme, designed to push the most academically able, requiring an average of eight hours of Mandarin study a week and leads to a full GCSE in Mandarin. 4 hours of this will be classroom learning plus another 4 hours of independent study per week. Mandarin does not replace the learning of a traditional modern foreign language on each student’s timetable and MEP students can expect to also study Spanish at Penrice.

The Mandarin Excellence Programme in Numbers

 
All data accurate as of 19th May 2023.

3 Reasons to Learn Mandarin

Future Opportunities
It is no secret that China’s economy has been growing rapidly in the last decade and the MEP is part of the UK government’s drive to help improve our deep economic links with the East. Many UK businesses are crying out for Mandarin speakers as they seek to operate internationally and learning this language will open many doors for students.

New Friends
With over one billion people speaking Mandarin across the world, you will have the opportunity to meet and converse with one billion new people!

Open Up New Travel Opportunities
If you go on holiday in Europe, you can sometimes figure out road signs and translate basic information with minimal knowledge of the language – this is because the alphabet is the same in most countries. That is not the case if travelling in Asia, and this can often deter people who wish to travel there. Learning Mandarin will not just enable our students to visit Mandarin-speaking countries with confidence, but also allow for whole family holidays with your child acting as a superstar translator!

Views from the Head of MFL

Mrs Rebecca Yeo
Head of Languages at Penrice

“Being the only school in Cornwall to offer the Mandarin Excellence Programme is a fantastic opportunity for our students to stand out from the crowd; it will set students apart from the rest and open doors in future college, university, apprenticeship and work placements. It will add a highly coveted string to their bow.
 
Languages perform extremely well at Penrice – we are very pro-language and it is something that we really value for our students. There is a wealth of evidence that highlights Mandarin will be one of the most important languages moving forward – particularly for the economy.”

The Year 7 Mandarin Curriculum

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Views from the British Council

Research by the British Council identifies Mandarin as one of the most important languages for the UK’s future prosperity and influence on the global stage.

Scott McDonald, Chief Executive British Council, said:

“The Mandarin Excellence Programme is helping thousands of young people in England to develop the language expertise and intercultural skills which will open the door to a whole world of study and career opportunities. Mandarin is one of the most important languages for young people in the UK to learn right now. Not only does it lead to a greater understanding of China’s people and culture, it builds stronger connections and mutual trust between our two countries, which is essential for future business, trade and prosperity.”

A New Face at Penrice Academy

Miss Rose brings exciting Mandarin language skills to Penrice Academy

Heading up the programme will be Miss Lemony Rose who joined Penrice in 2022 following experience of delivering the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) at two different schools in Coventry during her teacher training year.

At the time of joining, she said:

“It is going to be a really enjoyable first year and I can’t wait to get started with our first MEP cohort! The first year of the syllabus covers: Greetings, Numbers up to 99, Age, Family Members, Pets, Hobbies, and School.”

Miss Rose began learning Mandarin in Plymouth when she was 13 years old and continued to learn Mandarin all the way through to university where her chosen course was Asia-Pacific Studies. This included a placement year in China.

Miss Rose reflected on her placement year and said:

“I studied Chinese at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, one of China’s most prestigious universities. It was a very challenging and intensive experience because I spoke Mandarin every day, both in class and in my daily interactions. It was incredibly beneficial for improving my confidence, my fluency and my use of vocabulary, as well as my understanding of Chinese culture. I also got the chance to make friends from countries all over the world who were also studying Chinese, which was really enjoyable.”

Overseas Trip to China

It is intended that, as part of the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), students will be able to enjoy a two-week residential in China during Year 9. However, this is reliant on continued government funding and the continued easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Mrs Yeo commented:

“There is a lot of focus on Enrichment during the course. Students will get a really broad understanding of how to be a global citizen. They will get to immerse themselves in another culture, and it’ll open their eyes to the broader world; something in Cornwall our students often don’t get to do.”
 
“We are super excited of the possibility of students enjoying a trip to China when they reach Year 9 – what an opportunity! However, we are cautious about getting excited too early about this trip as a lot could change in that time.”