Confucius status for Bolton

Bolton School awarded Confucius Classroom status to grow Chinese study in the region

Posted by Stephanie Broad | October 06, 2015 | International

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• #confucius-classroom
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The junior boys’ school at Bolton School has been awarded Confucius Classroom status. 

An official ceremony to mark the award was attended by governors, senior staff and some 200 boys from years three to six, as well as special guests including China’s educational consul Wang Ying, the mayor of Bolton and representatives of the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester. 

Bolton is one of the few primary schools in the north to have been given Confucius Classroom status and will now become a teaching hub, allowing educators to share resources and build a community around Chinese learning in the region. 

“Modern foreign languages are very strong in our senior school, including thriving Russian and German departments,” says headmaster Philip Britton. 

“The influence of China will be huge in the working lifetime of this generation of pupils and the links between China and the north west are already evident and strengthening, so introducing Mandarin was a clear, forward-looking choice. 

“Opening a Confucius Classroom fits well with our general approach as a school in sharing our expertise with local schools whenever we can.” 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who recently visited China on a week-long trip to boost Chinese investment in the UK, has announced that Mandarin teaching in schools is set to get a £10m boost. 

www.boltonschool.org