In 2017 Crossley Heath was accepted onto the prestigious Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP). This is a government supported programme run in conjunction with the University College London, which aims to deliver a minimum of 5000 non-native speakers of Mandarin on their way to a high level of fluency.

In order to deliver the programme in school, there is a dedicated form group within each year specialising in the study of Mandarin as their Modern Foreign Language.  This form continues to study Mandarin throughout school with the expectation that they will continue to study it throughout their GCSEs and sit their exam in Year 11.

The Chinese curriculum aligns with the whole school intent, particularly in preparing students as future citizens. It also offers opportunities to explore different cultures and learn about other countries.