Case Study

Introduction

The Leeds Community Mandarin Chinese School (LCMCS) is a tripartite initiative between the Yorkshire Chinese Community, Education Leeds (the Local Authority) and Prince Henry’s Grammar School and Specialist Language College, Otley.

The complementary school draws students aged 5 to 16 from Leeds and the surrounding area and specialises in teaching Chinese Mandarin Language, and various creative cultural activities including Chinese Art and essay writing. It works in partnership with Prince Henry’s to provide the language learning and facilitation of language exams, and is supported by Education Leeds in terms of provision of premises.

The complementary school is established as a voluntary youth organisation, and as such encourages and supports young people to understand various aspects of Chinese culture, to develop their emotional stability and to stimulate their talents, self-esteem and confidence.

Collaboration

The collaboration was established because the complementary school was looking for larger premises and at the same time Education Leeds was seeking a Chinese community organisation for collaborative working. The LA brokered the partnership with Prince Henry’s because it is a languages specialist school. Education Leeds supports the partnership in terms of provision of premises: the school is delivered on a Saturday for two hours from the Little London Community Primary School and the authority covers these costs, while Prince Henry’s provides financial support by employing and providing the salaries for six tutors along with teacher training and professional advice. This commitment is given irrespective of the fact that the two schools have only a few pupils in common. The working relationship is very positive, close, and effective with the deputy headteacher of Prince Henry’s representing their interest. It is formalised via an agreed constitution, which lays out each partner’s responsibilities within the partnership. The arrangement suits all three since the maintained school arranges exchange visits with schools in China each year, and staff at the complementary school are able to provide advice and guidance. Since the establishment of the partnership in 2000, this complementary school has grown dramatically from just 12 students to a current roll of 118 with an additional 40 on a waiting list.

Teaching and learning

The Hanyu Pinyin system is used for teaching Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, and simplified Chinese characters are taught as the main writing system, while the 'Standard Chinese' series is used as the basic textbook. The vast majority of children are born in the UK with English as a first language. They also speak English at home.

Achievement of a GCSE examination in Mandarin is set as one of the learning targets for the pupils and the school has an excellent reputation for exam results: 11 students sat GCSE Mandarin during 2007, and all achieved A* grade, 2 achieving a position in the national top 10.

Impact

The partnership has had a positive impact on both students and teachers attending the complementary school: better-trained teachers have resulted in better learning in the classroom.

The children have been motivated in language learning through encouragement of teachers and active participation in cultural activities and community events which have provided them with an appreciation of their cultural roots, and their ability to read and converse in Mandarin Chinese, and to write characters has dramatically improved confidence and self-esteem.

The maintained school carries out an annual review/evaluation of the partnership by amongst other things, comparing its interim and annual exams including GCSE Mandarin Chinese, with other modern foreign languages taught at the school. They also arrange parents’ evenings and bi-annual celebration events. In addition the complementary school carries out its own monitoring of attendance and achievement.

Strengths

The financial support and training opportunities provided by the LA and maintained school are seen as strengths of the partnership; as are good communication, a close positive working relationship and the provision of cultural activities developed in partnership with Prince Henry’s. A well-established system of governance managed by volunteering parents, experienced and enthusiastic teaching staff, and close integration with the local community are also seen as strengths of the school.

Challenges

Conversely restrictions imposed by the maintained school in terms of use of extra rooms, (and particularly as the school has a current waiting list) along with limited resources preventing the school delivering A-Level Mandarin Chinese are seen as restrictions to their operation. The complementary school believes that a better-negotiated agreement would benefit them in terms of use of resources and financial assistance.

Funding and future plans

In 2008, LCMCS won a National Excellence Award for governance, presented by the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education. This reflected the high quality of its planning, evaluation and partnership work.

Funding for this partnership, which is bid for by Prince Henry’s, currently comes from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and runs for a further three years. Beyond that it is hoped that the partnership will look at continuation funding to allow the project to sustain its current work and expand the school to offer more cultural activities and an A’ Level in Mandarin Chinese

Parental involvement is actively encouraged and parents are allowed to sit in on classes. The school organises two annual celebration events as well as summer trips for children and parents

An elected and very active management committee of volunteers drives the LCMCS and includes representatives from each organisation,. In addition to their administrative duties they have actively heightened the profile of the school by arranging and encouraging the display of students artwork and promoting publication of students essays.

The LCMCS has a useful website which provides viewers with a wealth of information about specific and current information, including showcasing students work.

About the School