Bilingual Chinese-English school to open in London

A new prep school that is scheduled to open in London will be the first in Europe to teach all its students in both English and Chinese.

Kensington Wade claims it will provide a ‘forward thinking immersive Chinese and English education’ and will aim for all of its pupils to leave school fluent in Chinese.

The opening of the school comes as the UK government emphasises the importance of teaching Chinese as a second language, and school founder Professor Hugo de Burgh believes that the language is an increasingly essential asset for those hoping to work internationally.

He told the Independent: “Learning Chinese opened another world to me, enriching my life and giving me opportunities I would never otherwise have had. Now I want the next generation to have the same, only earlier.

“There are already some schools that teach the language, but it’s done much in the same way as French or German – a few hours a week - which is not enough to really get to grips with such a difficult language as Chinese.”

The school will open its doors to its first reception class in September 2017 and will also incorporate a nursery, which will take in its first cohort in April 2017.