Student demand to study Mandarin in UK schools outstrips supply by seven to one, the British Council has warned.

A report published today says that thousands of young people are missing out on Chinese language and cultural education because of a major gap between student interest and access.

The report shows that while 37 per cent of UK students might be interested in taking Mandarin if it were available, only 5 per cent currently can.

The Building UK China Capability Through Education report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 students aged 13-18.

Surge in Mandarin entries

Some 33 per cent of students responding to the survey said Mandarin is becoming one of the most important languages to learn, a higher proportion than for Spanish, French or German.

Over the past decade, entries for Mandarin GCSE have more than doubled, rising from 3,042 in 2012 to 7,854 in 2023.

During the same period, A-level enrolments fell by more than half, from 3,425 to 1,643, with course difficulty and teacher shortages identified as key barriers to progression.

Private school students account for a third of Mandarin GCSE entries in England, despite representing only 7 per cent of the overall student population.

The report adds: “The opportunity to learn Mandarin is not equally distributed across students from all backgrounds. Even in comparison to other languages, the disparity in Mandarin provision between independent and state schools is particularly dramatic.”

In the most recent Language Trends England report, only 4.3 per cent of responding state schools in England reported having Mandarin language assistants, compared with 36 per cent of the 42 independent schools that responded.

Declining trend in universities

At university level, Chinese language study has declined by 29 per cent since 2018, while enrolments in China-related studies have fallen by 7.5 per cent, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Initiatives such as the British Council’s Mandarin Excellence Programme have widened access in state schools, with more than 16,500 students taking part since its launch in 2016. However, the council said this progress has not yet translated into higher-level study.

Ralph Rogers, the British Council’s regional head for China, said: “This research shows there’s huge appetite among young people to learn Mandarin - but the opportunities just aren’t keeping pace. If we want the UK to have the skills to engage with one of the world’s most important countries, we need to act now.”

He added: “Expanding access in schools, connecting language learning to real career pathways and ensuring students can use their skills after graduation: our recommendations set out how to make that happen and we hope that the research will spark conversation on how to equip the next generation for an increasingly interconnected world.”

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