Having joined in September 2022, Penrice Academy is the only school in Cornwall to offer the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP).

As the second-most spoken language in the world and spoken by over a billion people, Mandarin opens up a wealth of opportunities for our students, both personally and academically. This is more than just learning a new language; it's about equipping our young adults with the skills and confidence to thrive in an ever-changing world, as well as understanding one of the most influential cultures in the world.

Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) – Applications for September 2026 now open

An enormous thank you to all those who attended Mandarin Taster Lessons recently. We hope that both students and parents/carers enjoyed the experience and better understand the 5-year course.

As promised, we are delighted to announce that the MEP Application Window is now open! If you would like to apply, the application form is below.

(Closes on Sunday 19^th April at 23:59 hours).

Please make sure your child takes the time to write a strong application. We can only take a maximum of 30 students on the course, so not all applications will be successful.

Pushing the most academically able

Mandarin is the second most widely spoken language in the world and is an official language of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore. The language connects speakers with an exciting and dynamic culture as well as boosting career opportunities in an increasing world of global business.

This 5-year course is an ambitious, accelerated programme, designed to push the most academically able, requiring 4 hours of classroom learning plus up to another 4 hours of independent study per week. Mandarin does not replace the learning of a traditional modern foreign language on each student’s timetable and MEP students can expect to also study Spanish at Penrice.

The Mandarin Excellence Programme in Numbers

3 Reasons to Learn Mandarin

Future Opportunities
It is no secret that China’s economy has been growing rapidly in the last decade and the MEP is part of the UK government’s drive to help improve our deep economic links with the East. Many UK businesses are crying out for Mandarin speakers as they seek to operate internationally and learning this language will open many doors for students.

New Friends
With over one billion people speaking Mandarin across the world, you will have the opportunity to meet and converse with one billion new people!

Open Up New Travel Opportunities
If you go on holiday in Europe, you can sometimes figure out road signs and translate basic information with minimal knowledge of the language - this is because the alphabet is the same in most countries. That is not the case if travelling in Asia, and this can often deter people who wish to travel there. Learning Mandarin will not just enable our students to visit Mandarin-speaking countries with confidence, but also allow for whole family holidays with your child acting as a superstar translator!

Views from the Head of MFL

"Being the only school in Cornwall to offer the Mandarin Excellence Programme is a fantastic opportunity for our students to stand out from the crowd; it will set students apart from the rest and open doors in future college, university, apprenticeship and work placements. It will add a highly coveted string to their bow.
 
Languages perform extremely well at Penrice – we are very pro-language and it is something that we really value for our students. There is a wealth of evidence that highlights Mandarin will be one of the most important languages moving forward – particularly for the economy."

Mrs King - Head of MFL at Penrice

The Early Mandarin Curriculum

[Click below to expand]