Mandarin lessons for 'BBCs' popular in UK

Over the past 10 years, the demand for Mandarin lessons in the UK has increased dramatically. A great deal of that demand comes from British Born Chinese students, known as BBCs.

This is one of several classrooms in East London, full to the brim on a Sunday - here, some Children as young as 4 are learning the language spoken by their parents.

At the London Mandarin School, around 70% of pupils are Chinese, born in Britain. Since 1997 the institution has seen a steady increase in student-numbers.

Xiaojiu Zhu, head teacher of London Mandarin School, said, "We had relatively quite small numbers in the first few years, about 60/70, then we moved very quickly to 200 and now we're around 300 students. In addition to Chinese language we have Chinese Calligraphy, Chinese Dancing, and Kung Fu."

Beyond the cultural ties, as China grows as a major economic powerhouse, parents of BBCs who've encouraged their children to speak English are also seeing the benefits of having a fluency in Mandarin.

June Chan, parent, said, "Although they are born here and they feel they are British, especially when they are young, they say 'why do I need to learn Chinese' I want them to keep their culture and also they can communicate with my parents and also good for their future, when they're growing up, when they want to find a job."

And it continues right up to university level.