The Lewisham Chinese Community School, the first to be built in Great Britain, is getting ready for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Reporter SAMANTHA PAYNE speaks to headteacher Van Cuong to find out more about the school and its Indo-Chinese community ...

THERE are more than 15,000 Chinese people in Lewisham and its surrounding areas. The borough became a focal point for immigrants in the late 1970s when Chinese people living in Vietnam fled the country after the war.

Van Cuong was one of the immigrants who escaped persecution in Vietnam. He arrived in Deptford with his family in 1979.

After three years' unemployment he had a vision to meet the demand of the growing Chinese community and set up a school to preserve Chinese culture and language.

Twenty-five years later the Indo-Chinese school in Clyde Street, Deptford, is now a pivotal part of the community.

Every Saturday the 339-pupil school holds Mandarin lessons for five to 18-year-olds as well as youth activities in the afternoon.

During the week the school acts as a community centre.

It also runs home care services for the elderly Chinese population with help from Lewisham, Greenwich, Bromley and Southwark councils.

Mr Cuong, 57, who has been headteacher at the school for 25 years, said: "We have grown from nothing to having our own building and providing services to so many people. Without the school there would be a vacuum in the community.

He added: "Lewisham has a major Chinese concentration area in London.

"The centre is an attraction point for everyone. It is a place to get help, meet friends and give our children a Chinese education."

For the younger generation of British-born Chinese, the school is one of many such centres around the country.

They help Chinese people participate in their community and keep in touch with their language and cultural identity.

The school offers key services, including providing meals and Chinese satellite TV access for elderly people.

It has become a lifeline for them and for middle-aged people who have problems with the English language.

Mr Cuong, who has five children and lives in Catford, said: "Mainstream services can't benefit our elderly people. This is why we have the centre to offer the home care and housing advice they need.

"We offer regular medical check-ups for them and encourage them to do gentle exercise and activities such as cooking to keep busy and realise they still have a purpose."

Youth activities range from table tennis, chess, karaoke and traditional dances.

Summer playschemes are also held in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and York.

Schools such as Deptford Park Primary, Evelyn Street, Deptford, and Deptford Green Secondary, Amersham Vale, New Cross, visit the Chinese centre.

Mr Cuong said: "The Chinese school aims to equip young people to be ready to compete in the workplace where China is growing in power and is likely to overtake the US.

"All of our ex-pupils are now professionals working as bank managers, lawyers and doctors.

"I look at this school as a big achievement. Not only has it become a centre for my own children but also for thousands of children living in Lewisham."

He added: "I've always believed in education as the only way to promote yourself in society and be treated as a first-class citizen."

  • Chinese New Year celebrations, Broadway Theatre, Catford, February 2 from 1pm to 3.30pm. The event is being organised by the Lewisham Indo-Chinese Community School and funded by Lewisham Council. There will be traditional Chinese dances from pupils, such as the lion dance, acrobatics and folk songs. Tickets cost £2. Call 020 8692 2772.