British schools should teach Polish to immigrant workers’ kids its Prime Minister tells Theresa May
Premier Beata Szydlo embarrassed the PM by making her demand public after talks at No10
POLAND’S leader risked a diplomatic row by telling Theresa May that more British schools should teach Polish to immigrant workers’ children.
Premier Beata Szydlo embarrassed the PM by making her demand public after talks in No10 last night.
Standing beside Mrs May during a Downing Street press conference, Mrs Szydlo said: “We spoke about the possibility of teaching Polish as a language in British schools”.
The Eastern European leader also outed her wish to see a special “chair” of Polish at Cambridge University.
Warsaw wants the offspring of almost one million Poles living in the UK to be able to speak their mother tongue.
But the request landed Mrs May in a dilemma.
The PM mounted a charm offensive in a bid to win round Mrs Szydlo ahead of Brexit talks by hosting her at a special day long UK-Poland summit yesterday.
But accepting the request means going against her own policy of insisting on more English being spoken by migrants to boost their integration.
Downing Street last night ducked giving Poland an answer.
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Polish is already offered by exam boards, but only as a minority language and pupils and parents cannot demand it.
A No10 spokesman said: “We have already taken action to ensure that Polish – alongside other languages – continues to be available at GCSE and A level.
“Schools are free to choose which language to teach.”
Before their talks, Mrs May and Mrs Szydlo paid their respects to Polish airmen killed in World War Two at the Polish War Memorial in Northolt, west London.
Other Cabinet ministers took part in discussions on defence co-operation and strengthening business and cultural links.