About Us
Scroll to content
Lancaster University Confucius Institute officially opened its doors on 20th December 2011.
Our Aims
We aim to:
- Offer credit-bearing Mandarin language and culture classes to students;
- Offer language and culture courses to local schools, communities and businesses;
- Support enterprise in the North West region through the themes of China, innovation and sustainable development. Both Lancaster University and our partner University in China, South China University of Technology, have significant expertise in these areas.
Teaching Sites
We support a number of teaching sites, including 2 sites located in schools, known as Confucius Classrooms. Confucius Classrooms are intended as teaching sites of both Chinese Language and Culture to the pupils (and staff), but also serve as a hub for providing such lessons and activities to other schools in their area.
Tab Content: Anchorsholme Academy
The first of the Confucius Institute’s official teaching partners, Anchorsholme Academy in Blackpool was approved by Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) in November 2014, and officially launched on 20th May 2015. Pupils aged 4-11 have weekly lessons in Chinese language and culture. Anchorsholme also prides itself on their outreach programs with other schools in Blackpool, allowing Chinese to be taught on an even greater scale.
Tab Content: Hawes Side Academy
Hawes Side Academy is our second Confucius Classroom, as well as our second in Blackpool. It was approved in July 2016 and was officially opened on 17th March 2017. Hawes Side Academy Confucius Classroom delivers weekly Chinese language and cultural lessons to all children from Year 1 to Year 6. They also provide outreach work to seven local primary and secondary schools. Hawes Side Academy introduced Mandarin Chinese to their curriculum in 2012, in association with Anchorsholme. In addition, with support from Robin Hood School (Birmingham), Chinese studies at Hawes Side have gone from strength to strength.
Tab Content: Tullie House
Our teaching site at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery is intended to provide both Chinese language and culture education, similar to the two Confucius Classrooms. However, unlike the classrooms, our work at Tullie House is also designed to take full advantage of the location within a museum to promote Chinese culture. Mandarin Chinese lessons are available to a number of groups, including local people, members of Tullie House staff, business, students in Carlisle, and schoolchildren, either on Tullie House premises or in school. This teaching site also aims to:
- Organise workshops/film sessions/engagement activities on Chinese culture.
- Work with Tullie House and its partners to promote Chinese language and culture through other means in Cumbria, e.g., through hosting visiting delegations or performances from China.
- Support Tullie House to explore the culture of China through the artefacts in its collection. This includes assisting in translation from English to Chinese for labels, catalogues, descriptions of objects, and other aspects of Tullie House's signage.
- Assist in developing links with museums in China.
- Supporting Tullie House staff with the organisation of exhibitions, such as "Treasures of China"