HEAD TEACHERS from China paid a visit to a Maldon school this week to observe pupils being taught Mandarin.

Schools in China’s Jiangsu Province near Shanghai have a longstanding link with Essex schools, and have supported teaching and learning of Mandarin at Maldon’s Wentworth Primary School for seven years.

On Tuesday May 3, Wentworth Primary welcomed five Chinese Head Teachers to the school to experience a wide range of activities.

They heard phonics lessons in Key Stage 1 Classes, English and Maths lessons in Key Stage 2, and in the afternoon they joined the Wentworth pupils for their weekly Mandarin lessons.

Headmistress of Wentworth, Mrs Jan Myers, said: “The pupils relished being able to converse with native speakers and were praised for their impressive pronunciation and confidence.”

The Chinese teachers met Mrs Myers, along with the School Leadership Team, Chair of the Governors Mr Geoff Skewes and Councillor Miriam Lewis from Maldon District Council.

The teachers enjoyed meeting everyone, and had good discussions about the future of learning Mandarin within the Maldon District.

Mrs Myers added: “Wentworth Primary children may be the future employees of the proposed Chinese built power station planned in the area.

“Our children being able to speak Mandarin will give them an advantage in securing jobs.

“The Chinese Head teachers felt there was a great benefit from visiting Essex schools and they had learnt a lot about how the UK education system works.

“They were extremely impressed by the excellent learning behaviours of the Wentworth children.”