Chinese teachers are being hired to raise standards in maths.

St Paul’s Catholic College in Burgess Hill has been selected as one of 32 schools in the country to lead a Maths Hub which will kick off this autumn.

It will mean a Chinese teacher coming into the school to work with the maths department to drive up standards.

China is currently ranked first in the world in terms of students’ attainment in maths, while Great Britain can be found in 24th on the list by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The aim of the Maths Hub project is to enhance the standards of teaching and quality of maths provision in this country.

Robert Carter, headteacher at St Paul’s Catholic College, said: “We are thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with our outstanding strategic partners to raise achievement in maths, develop innovative learning and inspire the best training for maths specialists.”

The school will be working in partnership with other schools on the scheme.

This work will be led through the Inspire Teaching School Alliance along with the Shanghai Teacher Exchange. This is designed to enable the school to learn from and work collaboratively with the highest-performing teachers in the world.

Elizabeth Truss MP was the education minister when the scheme was first launched.

She said: “Maths is the most important subject for a child’s future – it commands the highest earnings and provides the best protection against unemployment.”