Structure of the Department

The Mandarin department in St. Joseph's College takes full responsibility to teach Chinese language and promote Chinese culture to all of its students. The department is working towards becoming the centre of excellence for Mandarin in this area.

The department has two Mandarin teachers with Qualified Teacher Status. They are both Mandarin native speakers.

Ms. Jing Xiao, Head of Department, full time.
She teaches Mandarin in KS3, 4 and 5, from year 7 to year 13.

Mrs. Weiyu Lin, Teacher, part time.
She teaches Mandarin in KS3, from year 8 to year 9.

-- In KS3, Mandarin is a standard subject in the curriculum. All 180 students in year 7 study 13-week Mandarin introductory course. At the end of year 7, students can decide whether to continue with Mandarin learning until the end of KS3. Currently, 240 students in year 8 and year 9 study Mandarin until the end of KS3.

 
-- In KS4, Mandarin is one of the GCSE subjects.

-- In KS5, Mandarin is one of the AS subjects.

The Mandarin department also has the following responsibilities:

To develop the international link with Shanghai Changzheng secondary school in China;
To extend work with feeder primary schools through existing links;
To develop St Joseph's College to be the centre of Chinese teaching in the area;
To develop links with Chinese business based in London;
To work with Goldsmiths and link schools to build capacity of Mandarin teachers in the UK.
To work with local community for greater awareness of Chinese culture and community cohesion

GCSE/Post 16 results for the department

All of the students that have taken GCSE in Mandarin since 2007 have achieved A/A* grade (100% A/A* grade for continuous 3 years), with one students' result being in the top 10 in the country.
The first AS exam will take place in 2010.
One of the students came second in the National Mandarin Speaking competition in 2009 and won a trip to Beijing for 10 days.

Strengths of the department

Excellent GCSE exam result;
Excellent Asset Languages exam result;
Highest popularity in the area with 470 students learning Mandarin in the curriculum;
Great success in organising school trips to China (4 China trips have taken place);
Fast development in national and international school links;
It enables the students to be able to be aware of the numerous opportunities that are available to work with China and the Chinese people for the mutual benefit of both peoples.

Department development plan

To keep the outstanding exam results in GCSE;
To bring out good results in KS5;
To obtain Confucius Classroom Status;
To expand our capacity and meet the demand within the school and the local community;
To open new Mandarin clubs in local schools;
To run X-curricular projects with international partners.

Ethos of the department

The Mandarin Department is committed and determined to develop Mandarin and Chinese culture in London. It aims at becoming the centre of excellence for Mandarin in its area, working towards greater harmony and social cohesion.

Relation to the rest of the school

The Mandarin Department works closely with the rest of the school on a daily basis.
It participates in various X-curricular projects.
It contributes to social diversity and community cohesion.
It is a main participate in International Education Week, Global Awareness Week, Chinese New Year Celebration, etc.

Other relevant information

The department aims to take the lead, locally and nationally, in promotion of the teaching of Mandarin and Chinese Culture, to all sections of the community. This will help towards social cohesion and deeper understanding of international affairs.

Ms. J. Xiao - Head of Mandarin.