In 2001, Kingsford became one of the first schools in the United Kingdom to introduce lessons of Mandarin to its curriculum. In 2007, the school became the first Confucius Classroom, a recognised centre for promoting Mandarin Language and Chinese Culture, in London and the South-East. Subsequently, the school has worked closely with both the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and Hanban (the National office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) in order to develop its own Chinese learning programme and also to promote the teaching of China’s language and culture to other schools in the capital and South-East region. As a designated SSAT ‘hub’ school, Kingsford works closely with both Hanban and the SSAT with the aim of expanding the network of Confucius Classrooms in the UK. This task has been facilitated by Kingsford’s partner school in China, Peking University Middle School. The school’s considerable expertise has recently led to it being recognised by Hanban as one of the best Confucius Classrooms in the world.
The school’s Specialist Language College status, Confucius Classroom and international links programme add a positive dimension to all curriculum areas and help raise students’ aspirations, preparing them better for working and living in an increasingly competitive, global economy. All students have the opportunity to go on at least one visit abroad. KS4 students go on homestay visits to France each year in preparation for their GCSE exam.
Several Learning Areas have organised visits to China and this work has extended links to other far reaches of the world. We have developed ground breaking work experience visits to both China, France and Spain and students participate in the British Council Chinese Language Immersion courses each year. We are also proud of our global citizenship work through our links with students in other countries. At a local level, we have developed both French and Mandarin teaching in our feeder primary schools, as well as developing business language courses for staff from the banking sector. Our community language programmes support a range of local residents and the development of their language and culture.
