Swire Chinese Language Centre Edinburgh celebrates a decade of expanding Mandarin education

In an increasingly polarised world where our attention is often drawn what divides us, George Watson’s College recently hosted an extraordinary event rooted instead in the best of what unites us.  An event celebrating a decade of the Swire Chinese Language Centre Edinburgh (SCLCE) that recognised the importance of partnership, the depth of our school’s impact in our community and the strong global connections we have built. 

Attended by our local MP Dr Scott Arthur, MSPs, local Counsellors, Edinburgh school leaders and the Chinese Consul General Mr Zhang Biao, the stars of the evening were undoubtably the pupils from GWC, Boroughmuir High School, James Gillespie’s High School and Castlebrae Community Campus who shared their stories and the transformative impact this project has had. 

With funding from the Swire Chinese Language Foundation, SCLCE is a trail-blazing partnership between state and independent schools across Edinburgh and East Lothian. The project has grown from a bold idea into one of the most significant Mandarin education programmes in Scotland. 

The centre was established in 2016 through a collaboration between Boroughmuir High School, George Watson’s College and James Gillespie’s High School, to broaden access to Chinese language learning and strengthen cross-sector educational partnerships. Over the past decade: 

• more than 11,000 pupils across 45 schools have participated in Mandarin learning through the Centre from primary school introduction to Advanced Higher qualifications.  
• in the 2024–25 academic year alone, the SCLCE accounted for 19% of all Mandarin National 5 entries in Scottish state schools and 75% of entries within Edinburgh. 
• the programme has also played a key role in widening participation, with nearly a quarter of high school pupils coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

By the end of 2026, total funding for the Edinburgh Centre will reach approximately £2.7 million.  

Beyond the classroom, SCLCE has facilitated a rich programme of cultural enrichment, including partially or fully funded educational trips to China. These experiences have provided exceptional opportunities for many pupils, some of whom had never travelled outside Scotland before. 

Last week, we were delighted to learn that Dr Scott Arthur MP had been so impressed with his visit, that he raised an early day motion which you can read here 

Dr Arthur also closed the evening’s event by praising the schools, teachers and pupils involved and the Swire Chinese Language Foundation for funding the project adding:  

“I firmly believe that Mandarin - a language spoken by over 1.1 billion people - should not be an "exclusive" skill. It should be an option for any interested young person in Edinburgh. And it is great to see this collaboration. Finding out that nearly 30% of those students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, further convinced me that this programme is not only reaching a vital skill for the 21st century, but also dismantling the "opportunity gap. Learning any foreign language takes time, patience, and passion, but I want to say a special thanks to the dedicated staff making this uniquely challenging language seem doable.” 

Our thanks go to the Swire Chinese Language Foundation and especially its Executive Director Edward Watson who joined us at the event, to David Dempster, Donald Macdonald and Melvyn Roffe, the visionary school leaders who launched the programme, to the dedicated teaching staff across all schools and to the pupils themselves whose dedication and commitment have made this endeavour such a success.