Emphasis on Mandarin at UCL academy

Pupils will have to study a modern language such as Arabic or Mandarin at a proposed academy sponsored by University College London.

Unlike most state schools, the academy will require all children to study a language up to the age of 16 because UCL wants to make sure pupils grow up with a "global" outlook.

The UCL Academy in Camden, which is expected to open in 2011, will focus on languages that are important for business such as Mandarin. The proposals released last week are in public consultation and come as more private schools make the Chinese dialect compulsory.

Professor Michael Worton, UCL viceprovost, said: "We will not just be teaching French, German, Italian and Spanish but other languages, such as Arabic and Mandarin, which are important to business.

"Instead of having a geography class and a Spanish class, we might have a geography class taught in Spanish."

Languages will be compulsory for 11 to 16-year-olds and sixth-formers will be encouraged to continue studying. Pupils will also form links with schools overseas. The consultation plans said: "Knowledge of a foreign language is a vital element of a broad education."

The school will also run after-hours clubs as "masterclasses for the gifted and talented" and encourage pupils to do community voluntary work.