A Paddington academy student is heading to China after scooping top prize in a national competition. Young linguist Tania Miranda is one of nine lucky students jetting to China after beating more than 200 other pupils from all over the country in the fif

A Paddington academy student is heading to China after scooping top prize in a national competition.

Young linguist Tania Miranda is one of nine lucky students jetting to China after beating more than 200 other pupils from all over the country in the fifth annual British Council Chinese speaking competition for schools.

Supported by HSBC the competition aims to encourage greater levels of interest in the Chinese language among schoolchildren.

British Council schools director Olga Stanojlovic said: "This is a very exciting time for schools teaching Chinese in Britain.

"The level of interest is growing, year on year, with 80 schools now hosting Chinese teachers through the British Council's language assistants programme, almost double the numbers from last year alone.

"More and more schools are starting to include Chinese in the curriculum, which is reflected in the record number of schools and students taking part in the competition this year."

Tania won the category for Years 10 and 11 by presenting a two-minute prepared speech in Chinese, answering general knowledge questions about China and translating English sentences into Chinese.

The winners will stay at a high school during their trip and have the chance to take part in school activities with Chinese students.

They will also visit some important historical sites to learn about different aspects of contemporary and traditional Chinese culture.