CHINESE could soon be on the curriculum at St Monica's RC High School after it earned coveted specialist status for languages.

The Bury Old Road school was celebrating this week after being told its bid to become a centre of excellence for modern foreign languages was successful.

St Monica's, along with Derby High School (Science and Arts) and Broad Oak High School (Sport) in Bury, is among just 217 schools across the country to earn the new standing.

As each school, St Monica's had to write a detailed bid to the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) explaining why they should be handed the status as well as raising £50,000.

In return the high performing school will receive almost £700,000 in funding over a four-year period, which includes an extra £123,000 each year to spend in school and on community links in order to raise standards all round.

The boost will also mean St Monica's can go ahead with a state-of-the-art £150,000 extension to its Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) department, which will include two high-tech language rooms.

Delighted with the news, head teacher Mr Frank McCarron said specialist status would enable the school to "establish things like Mandarin" and added: "It is really exciting. In 2004 we will have some Japanese teacher training students in school and in time we hope to be able to offer Chinese on the curriculum and as an extra curriculum language. China is now the economic growth area in the world and is overtaking America. It is also the fastest-growing language in Britain."

Mr McCarron said that one of the school's main sponsors HSBC, who contributed £25,000 to the bid, has major banking outlets in China.

Specialist status will also help the school improve on its achievements in its existing languages French and Spanish.

Mr McCarron said: "We will try to increase the number of A-Cs and A*s and aim to offer dual languages from Year 7. We also want to increase the number of students who take modern languages at post 16."

This he said would be achieved by developing more foreign exchange trips and work experience placements in European countries.

There will also be a provision to introduce languages to local primary schools and children with learning and physical disabilities as well as offering language courses to the community.

Mr McCarron added: "We are the first specialist language school in Bury and to get it first time around when less than five per cent are successful is just great. The bid was very good and we have Mr Eric Farrell, the head of MFL, to thank for that.

Mr McCarron also thanked everyone who contributed to financial support, which was raised in just four months, including HSBC, Sisters of Mercy, Hope University, the Lawrence Walker Trust and "great support" from the parents.

Bury Council's executive member for lifelong learning, Coun Stephen Perkins, said: "Time and time again our schools have earned glowing praise from far and wide. Now, once more, their expertise has been acknowledged. These three high schools join a new national elite, but the exciting thing for our borough is that they will be in a position to offer support and assistance to others in the locality to achieve similar standing."

Jean Wray, area customer services manager for HSBC, said St Monica's was one of 52 schools to benefit from funding under a HSBC scheme and they were impressed with the school's aim to teach Mandarin.

She said: "We support the teaching of Asian languages where they are not indigenous in English speaking countries. We recently opened a new branch in Manchester where staff are required to speak either Mandarin or Cantonese."