The Mandarin Bilingual Program provides students with instruction in both English and Mandarin.
Regardless of their first language, the elementary program offers all students the possibility of completing 50 percent of the prescribed B.C. curriculum in Mandarin and 50 percent of the prescribed B.C. curriculum in English.
Subjects taught in English are :
Subjects taught in Mandarin are :
Simplified Chinese script will be introduced in Kindergarten. The Hanyu Pinyin pronunciation system will be taught to accelerate the process of learning to read Chinese.
Walton Elementary School (K-5)
Scott Creek Middle School (6-8)
Gleneagle Secondary School (9-12)
To apply for Mandarin for September 2025:
Applications for Programs of Choice (French Immersion, Montessori, Mandarin Bilingual) for September 2026 (School Year 2026-27) will open starting 9:00 am January 8, 2026 to January 14, 2026 at 4:00pm. The link will be available on the front page of our website at www.sd43.bc.ca.
Families who have been accepted into a program of choice do not need to apply for cross catchment. The school will provide directions regarding registration.
Ms. Shauna Beaton-RaeLanguage and Culture Coordinator
1100 Winslow AvenueCoquitlam, BC V3J 2G3
sbeaton@sd43.bc.ca
No. Most of our students report they are not native Mandarin speakers at home. There is no screening done since we are still a public school. Research shows that mixing native and non-native speakers can have long term benefits in a bilingual program. (Padilla, Fan, Xu, Silva, 2013)
Yes and no. The children do learn a language other than English. Unlike French Immersion, the children learn 50% Chinese and 50% English throughout the school year.
Yes, the student will be allowed to switch to the regular English program depending on the enrollment numbers in the neighbourhood English program. This switch typically occurs at the beginning of a new school year.
The outcome will be different based on individual student. It really depends on the level of commitment, time, participation in the class, and interaction with peers. Each child has his/ her own unique learning style.
Knowledge of Mandarin is not expected. Students are expected to acquire the language through input from class activities and instructions. Therefore, class participation is very important for students to succeed in the program. However, there are many other ways to assist your child in learning this second language. Little steps of progress can be celebrated with your child at home. Learn with your child by asking him/her to share with you what they learned at school. We are very fortunate to live in a multicultural city where a lot of ongoing cultural events. Take your child to different cultural activities and encourage them to speak the language.
