Five years since its launch and at the conclusion of the first contracted phase of delivery from 2016 to 2021, the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) independent evaluation report has been published and is now publicly available. Click HERE to read it.

The report showcases the impressive results that the MEP has achieved. Notably, the programme achieved its target to have 5,000 pupils on track to fluency in Mandarin by 2020. At the current rate of growth this number could double by the 2023/24 academic year.

Key achievements from 2016 to 2021 include:

• 71 schools within the Programme at the end of phase 1
  • 40 have newly introduced Mandarin onto the curriculum
• 6,274 pupils enrolled across KS3 and KS4 in 2020-2021
  • 5,088 pupils enrolled at the end of four years
  • Relatively low drop-out (5%-7% annually)
  • 323 MEP pupils entered for GCSE in Summer 2021 (14 schools)
  • 45% achieved Grade 9
  • 97% achieved Grade 5+
  • GCSE results significantly ahead of the national average
• Wider pupil benefits reported around increased confidence, self-esteem and cultural learning
• A majority of MEP schools offer training opportunities for student/Newly Qualified Mandarin teachers

MEP students in China as part of the Intensive Study Programme

In summary, the evaluation report discovered that the first 5 years of MEP delivered the following outcomes;

• A well-designed and balanced programme
• Successful achievement of initial objectives
• National impact on the number of pupils learning Mandarin
• A very strong first cohort of GCSE results in 2021
• Benefits from skilled and committed delivery partners
• A boost to teacher supply
• Support for teacher development

Student and teacher at an MEP school