Valuable contribution: Jin Liu, left and Gengyi Li, two new teachers from China at Hummersknott School.

Students at a Darlington school are benefiting from the expertise of three native Mandarin speakers in the school. Hua Yan, the permanent Mandarin teacher at Hummersknott School has been joined by two Chinese teachers Gengyi Li and Jin Liu.

The teachers are sponsored by Hanban, a Chinese government organization designed to promote the teaching of Mandarin throughout the world. Hanban supports Hummersknott School as it is a member of one of Confucius institutes, which promotes Chinese language and culture across the world.

While in England, the two Hanban teachers will also be sharing their expertise with other schools throughout the borough. Students at Hummersknott School can study Mandarin from year eight, and this summer, 14 students will be sitting GCSE Mandarin exams.

Debbie Wells, director of the language college, said that “The Hanban teachers bring so much in terms of cultural experience for students and are a great hope in working on improving speaking Chinese. They are also valuable contribution for other schools in the area through teaching and running workshops”