A PIONEERING North-East college is to lead the way in teaching the language and culture of China to other schools across the region.

Hummersknott School and Language College, in Darlington, is one of only five schools nationwide to become the first Confucius Classrooms in the world.

The Confucius Classrooms have been given approval by the Office of Chinese Language Council (Hanban) and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT).

The trust was given Confucius Institute Status by Hanban in October last year with the aim of promoting friendly relationships between China and the world.

The SSAT is the first school-based Confucius Institute and the five Confucius Classrooms will operate as hubs within a network of schools.

They will develop best practice, provide support and share their experiences and knowledge so that a growing number of students will learn about China and the Chinese language.

Hummersknott will get two new Chinese teaching assistants as part of the scheme.

Hummersknott headteacher Pat Howarth said: "The aim is to start up a network of schools in the North-East that will be interested in delivering Mandarin - both primary and secondary schools and further education.

"We also want to work with local companies to support their training needs and use our links with China to support trade in the region."

The school has been teaching Mandarin for six years and last year had its first crop of GCSE students.

Mr Howarth said: "It's a very challenging course because the students have to learn and be able to interpret the Chinese characters. But our standards are very high."

SSAT chief executive Elizabeth Reid said: "We must equip young people to participate in the emerging strategic partnership between the UK and China with knowledge and understanding.

"Through language learning, study visits to China and the contribution of Chinese teachers, we can offer young people at school a rich and engaging opportunity to find out about the largest country in the world."

Mme Xu Lin, director-general of Hanban, said: "The establishment of the SSAT Confucius Institute will foster the hopes of young people from the two countries for mutual understanding and will be a significant development in the history of Sino-British cultural exchange.

"Hanban and the Confucius Institute headquarters will do all they can to support the Confucius Classrooms."

The other schools in the scheme are Calday Grange Grammar School, in Merseyside, Djanogly City Academy, in Nottingham, Katharine Lady Berkeley's School, in Gloucestershire, and Kingsford Community School, in east London.