UK dual language school preparing pupils for world with big China role

LONDON - Founders of the first British school to teach all its lessons in both Chinese and English have vowed to prepare their pupils for a post-Brexit world where China is expected to play a big role.

Kensington Wade, a private school in west London, is expected to open next year.

One of the founders of the dual language school was quoted on Thursday by the local media as saying that they hope pupils at their prep school will flourish in a post-Brexit world where China has "a strong influence on business, politics and international affairs."

Hugo de Burgh, one of the co-founders and China expert at the University of Westminster, told Evening Standard that he hoped a majority of the students at the school, which will accommodate up to 200 pupils aged from three to 13, would be British.

He said that British children had much to learn from Chinese teaching methods that promote concentration, focus and clarity of thought.

The latest development came one year after BBC questioned whether the Chinese-style education, which stresses unquestioning obedience and hardwork, would work on British kids in its Chinese schooling documentary.

But the founders said that their school aims to marry the best of the two countries' educational cultures to help London youngsters pick up the Chinese language from an early age.