Now that’s what I call English by Canterbury Principal, Pat O'Donoghue

It’s hard to believe the summer is already here, but Monday morning was the beginning of our summer school and we welcomed new students from 16 different countries.

With the summer come lots of Great British summer traditions and nowhere is this more noticeable than in that great passion of the British, sport. Our number one sport, football, enjoys a rest from mid May to mid August but that just allows us to turn our attention to many other great events. If you are in the UK studying English with us this summer you may be able to experience some of the following great British sporting events.

From Tuesday to Saturday this week is a personal favourite of mine, Royal Ascot. This is one of the highlights of the horseracing calendar and it is attended every year by members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, a great supporter of the sport. This event receives a lot of Press attention and usually the racing is overshadowed by the attention paid to what racegoers are wearing. There is a strict code of dress in the Royal Enclosure, where men must wear Top Hats and Tails and the TV cameras are always out in force on Ladies’ day to report on the latest dresses and hats.

Following straight on from Royal Ascot we make the short journey up to London for the tennis at Wimbledon. British fans will be wondering whether Andy Murray can make this the year that the first Briton wins a Championship since Virginia Wade in 1977. Strawberries and cream anyone?

Midway through Wimbledon fortnight we have the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and I will be cheering on Lewis Hamilton, who studied at our sister college, CATS Cambridge.

But if you want something even more English then I invite you to tune into cricket. This summer England hosts the ‘Ashes’ series against Australia. For English and Australians alike, this is the must win series, played only once every two years, alternating between England and Australia. It’s not a quick affair; there are five ‘Tests’ (matches), each one lasting up to five days. So it’s just as well that unlike other sports which have a short half-time break of 15-20 minutes, Test matches stop for lunch and for afternoon tea! Now that’s what I call English.