WHO, WHAT, WHY? The Magazine answers... An independent school
has become the first in the UK to make Mandarin Chinese
compulsory for pupils, reflecting the growing importance of
China on the world stage. But it's not an easy language to
master. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken in China China used to
be called a sleeping giant. Now, as the world's fastest growing
major economy, it is well and truly awake. British exports to
the country are expected to quadruple by the end of the decade
and the government wants every school, college and university to
be twinned with an equivalent in China within the next five
years. An estimated 100 schools in the UK are now teaching
Mandarin, China's official language, according to the British
Council - the UK's international organisation for educational
and cultural relations. Brighton College, an independent school
in East Sussex, this week became the first to make the language
compulsory, alongside French, Spanish and Latin. But it is a
tough language to learn for Westerne