The Chinese Government is investing money in Brighton College, where Secretary of State, Ed Balls, just opened the Confucius Institute - Britain’s latest centre of excellence for the teaching of Mandarin.

On the 7 March, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, opened the Confucius Institute at Brighton College - the new language centre funded jointly by the Chinese Government and the school as a centre of excellence for the teaching of Mandarin.

Eager to support the study of Chinese and promote Chinese culture, the Office of the International Chinese Language Council has established more than 100 “Confucius Institutes” across the globe, and the status of English as a global language in the future seems less certain.

Sino qua non
In 2006, Brighton College was the first school in Britain to make Mandarin Chinese compulsory for its pupils, with lessons offered to students as young as 4 years old. The Headmaster, Richard Cairns, says, “Brighton College shares the Government’s view that British business must strengthen links with China, the fourth largest economy in the world.  We seek to ensure pupils have the best possible preparation for life and as part of that it is essential they not only learn some Mandarin but also – as importantly – begin to understand that the East matters. This is why so much attention is given to the culture and politics of China.”

Westminster orders Chinese
An estimated 100 schools in the UK now teach Mandarin, according to the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for educational and cultural relations. It’s not enough, according to MPs on the influential Commons Education Select Committee, which wants ministers to work in partnership with industry to offer scholarships and fellowships to Chinese youngsters to study in the UK.

The MPs are concerned that Britain’s reputation as a centre for international study is falling behind other Western countries in wooing a potentially huge market for international student recruits. Gordon Marsden, Labour MP for Blackpool South and a senior member of the select committee, suggested that the new scholarships be "split three ways, with one-third UK government funding, one-third Chinese government and one-third businesses that are operating in China".

Let’s hope the fortune cookie has a good message for Anglo-Chinese relations.

For further information on Brighton College, please visit www.brightoncollege.net or ring 01273 704200.