A campaign group has raised concerns about a Bexley school receiving thousands of pounds in funding from the Chinese government.

‘Confucius Classroom’ - a Chinese-language teaching project financially supported by the government of China - was introduced at Beths Grammar School in Hartford Road five years ago.

Free Tibet claims the school has received more than £12,000 in support of the programme - which was launched in 2004 by the Confucius Institute and claims to have 92 "hubs" and classrooms in UK primary and secondary schools.

But it describes the programme as being part of China's "overseas propaganda set-up", and hopes this won’t lead to a "whitewash" of China’s human rights record and occupation of Tibet. 

According to Free Tibet, funding is only awarded after approval of work plans by Confucius Institute Headquarters (known as Hanban) in Beijing. 

Meanwhile Beths Grammar also employs a "Hanban teacher" - a Chinese citizen, recruited in China and answerable to authorities in Beijing. 

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These teachers are said to be subject to political vetting by Chinese authorities and are obliged to support the positions and policies of China’s government. 

In a letter to the school, Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren wrote: "Free Tibet appreciates the challenges to schools in providing Chinese-language teaching and we believe increased contact between the people of China and British people is a positive thing. 

"In the case of Confucius Classrooms, however, that teaching and contact is effectively on terms dictated by a government that suppresses free speech inside its own borders and there is a financial incentive for schools to maintain their relationship with that government. 

"Confucius Institutes have been the subject of intense controversy in recent years with a number of universities closing their institutes and academic organisations calling for all to be closed down."

Ms Byrne-Rosengren added: "China’s government denies freedom, democracy and human rights to its citizens and brutally suppresses peaceful resistance in Tibet. 

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"There’s a real risk that schools dazzled by the shiny opportunities presented by Confucius Classrooms could forget, ignore or even hide that. 

"Beths Grammar School needs to prove to parents, pupils and the community that Chinese government cash and side-benefits won’t prevent it from providing its pupils with a genuine understanding of China."

A spokeswoman for the school said: "The government identified Chinese Mandarin as a language students may need for the future, due to its growing importance in business.

"Being part of the programme, which is affiliated with the Institute of Education, has enabled us to host a Hanban teacher from China to work with small groups, as well as support a range of activities in Beths and local primary schools. 

"We have also been able to offer some of our students the opportunity to visit China.

"As a school we have a duty to introduce our students to a range of cultures and to present them in a balanced and measured way."