Polish should be taught in Britain’s schools, the country’s Prime Minister declared yesterday.

Beata Szydlo used a televised Downing Street press conference to make the surprise request of her counterpart Theresa May.

She spoke of ‘the option of teaching Polish as a language in British schools’ after the topic was also raised in a meeting of senior politicians from the two countries.

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (left) suddenly made the surprise request of Theresa May (right) during a televised Downing Street press conference

The suggestion comes as Downing Street is keen to make an ally of the Polish leader in advance of Brexit talks formally opening.

Neither Number Ten nor Mrs May gave any response to the request, which did not contain any detail and which follows a huge influx of children into UK schools from Poland.

Last week, Poland’s Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski made a similar request of the government in Ireland, where large numbers of Polish children also live.

Theresa May (right) and Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo (left) laid wreaths yesterday during a visit to the Polish War Memorial near RAF Northolt in north west London

Almost 700,000 pupils in Britain – one in 15 nationally – have a parent who is a citizen of another European country. The number has more than doubled since 2007.

JUNCKER'S FEARS OF MORE 'BREXITS' Jean-Claude Juncker has urged EU leaders not to hold referendums because he fears their voters will choose to leave like Britain. The European Commission president’s comment came as Austria’s far-right presidential hopeful Norbert Hofer promised to hold an EU vote if elected on Sunday. Asked about the Freedom Party candidate’s referendum pledge, Mr Juncker told Euronews: ‘I think it is not wise to organise this kind of debate, not only because I might be concerned about the final result but because this will pile more controversy on to the huge number already present at the heart of the EU.’ Mr Juncker, who has faced blame for the Brexit vote, insisted ‘the existence of the EU is not in doubt’. He also dismissed far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s chances of being elected French president, saying: ‘This is a hypothesis that I do not think will come to pass.’ And asked if Britain would be punished over Brexit, Mr Juncker said: ‘I am not looking for revenge.’ Advertisement

Of those school-aged children who arrive in Britain from EU countries, the highest number come from Poland, followed by Germany and Lithuania.

The two Prime Ministers said they had enjoyed ‘excellent’ talks at the special summit in London.

Mrs May added that she was seeking an ‘early’ deal to allow Polish citizens and those from the remainder of the EU to stay in this country following Brexit.

But she said that, until the rest of the EU had agreed to protect the rights of Britons living abroad, the deal could not be signed off.

Mrs May declared: ‘We are two leaders determined to make the most of the relationship between our countries.

‘I firmly believe that if we all approach Brexit in the same constructive and positive manner, then we can secure the right outcome for the United Kingdom and for our European neighbours too.’

She confirmed plans to send 150 British troops to Poland to help ‘deter Russian aggression’ in Europe. They will be deployed in April close to the Polish border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Mrs Szydlo stressed that there had been no negotiations over Brexit during the Downing Street talks.

Theresa May is hoping the fate of the large Polish community in Britain weighs heavily on Beata Szydlo and she might support Britain's position during the Brexit talks

These would be a matter for the UK and the EU, and would be initiated only when Article 50 was tabled, she said.

But the Polish leader said that Warsaw would insist on ‘reciprocity’ in the rights and privileges accorded to UK citizens in Europe and EU citizens in Britain.

Mrs Szydlo added that she hoped Brexit would result in new relations between Britain and its former EU partners based on ‘mutual trust’.

She also thanked the UK for its response to ‘very sad’ alleged hate crimes against Poles after the Brexit vote, including the killing of Arkadiusz Jozwik in Harlow, Essex.

The Polish PM said: ‘I would also like to thank you for the support given by the British Government to those members of the Polish community who have suffered after the very sad incident in hate crimes in the United Kingdom.

‘You reacted immediately and we continue working together in order to make sure that the Polish community is safe.’