Llandovery College, a private school in Carmathenshire, Wales, is about to give Mandarin lessions to its pupils as young as four, the Western Mail reports. The Mandarin lessions will start from September, when a Chinese teaching assistant sponsored by the British Council will arrive.

Paul Rowland wrote in Western Mail:

ONE of Wales’ most famous private schools is to become the first in the country to offer pupils lessons in Mandarin Chinese.

Llandovery College claims the language will become a highly valuable asset for its students because of the growing importance of China in the global economy.

From September, children as young as four at the Carmarthenshire school will begin learning the language’s 60,000 characters, as well as having lessons about Chinese culture from a native Mandarin-speaking teacher.

China is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, with a growth rate of around 10%, and is one of the world’s largest exporters of goods, with an export growth rate of 24% in 2006.

In recent years it has firmly established itself ahead of Britain as the world’s fourth largest economy.

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