On Friday 29th April 2011 Prince William will be married to Katherine Middleton. This day has been declared a public holiday across the UK.

What is happening at Oxford English Centre on this day?

The Oxford English Centre will be open as usual on Friday 29th April and we have decided to embrace this national event and offer a day of classes and related activities connected with the monarchy, the Royal Family and "Englishness".

Tuition will be based around presentations; web-search based classes and a quizzes and an acting company may come to perform some Shakespeare. One to one classes will be taught as usual or made up on other days. In addition the shops and restaurants in North Parade (the small street next to the school) may organise a street party with traditional Morris dancing and a tea party with music!

There is a lot of work to do but we think the day will be educational and fun and that it will be wonderful for our students to be part of this special cultural event.

Just a reminder that there are still a few places left on our 4 week FCE preparation course in August. This is a fantastic opportunity for new students to choose to come to Oxford to study English because during the summer months the exam will only be offered in the UK and Ireland.

To book a place for this exam please email us or book through our website before the end of July.

We now offer the online BULATS English test which can be taken on request in the school. BULATS stands for Business Language Testing service. The test is widely recognised and will appeal to anyone who would like a fast, simple and low cost way of obtaining a Cambridge certificate with validation of their English level. Already over 50 students have taken the test. Jeronimo Arambasic, 19, from Argentina achieved a top score of 100%. Congratulations Jeronimo!

....well, in short, quite spectacular. Summer time at the Oxford English Centre is an extremely busy period and this year was no exception, with a variety of students, from South America, Spain, France, China, Japan and Russia ( to name just a few) coming to learn at the school whilst enjoying multiple excursions around the city.

Despite the positive weather forecast of a "BBQ summer" and some promise of sunshine, many of our summer students were greeted with cloudy skies and rain.

However, everyone was still very enthusiastic about taking part in outdoor activities. Punting and sports were as popular as always -even in the rain- and the weekly BBQ was always a "full house" as we cooked Oxford sausages on the charcoal grill. Mmmmm smoke gets in your eyes!!

1. Italy 17.31%

2. Spain 10.90%

3. Germany 9.62%

4. France 7.69%

5. Japan 7.69%

6. Saudi Arabia 6.62%

7. China 5.77%

8. Korea 4.49%

9. Switzerland 4.49%

10. Russia 4.06%

Other Nationalities: Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Georgia, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Canada, Hungary, Oman, Slovenia, Colombia, Croatia, Greece, Holland, Iran, Libya, Mexico, Qatar, Thailand, UAE, Angola, Austria, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Ukraine, Canada

1. Where are you from?

Bosnia & Herzegovina

2. What do you do in your country?

I am an orthopaedic surgeon

3. Why did you choose to study with OEC?

First of all, the British Council recommended it. Then I searched on the internet and I liked it.

4. How is your life in Oxford?

I have been having a lovely time.

I stay in a school residence. It is a really nice place to stay!

I have been taking a full-time course "English for Medicine" and I have learnt a lot. I have also met friends from all over the world.

You should come and study with OEC!

Our 2009 Variety Show was a classic! Students and staff loved our new venue at The Regal, a large club close to the city centre. The office staff performed an 80's aerobic dance while the teachers showed us the Time Warp! The students performed a selection of dances and we had the world's Rubik Cube champion from Brazil solving 2 cubes in under 2 minutes. A very big thank you to all those who participated! Back again next July!

You can see the highlights of VS 2009 at the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCbB3M0xig0

1. Spain 15.44%

2. France 14.52%

3. Italy 11.03%

4. Brazil 7.17%

5. Switzerland 6.07%

6. Saudi Arabia 5.88%

7.Argentina 4.60%

8. China 4.04%

8. Germany 4.04%

8. Russia 4.04%

Residential Accommodation 2009

We are very happy to announce our residential accommodation for July/August 2009.

Students can choose self-catering accommodation within walking distance of our school or "College Life" accommodation in a beautiful Oxford College with half-board. Please contact us for more information

1. Switzerland 12.73%

2. Philippines 12.27%

3. Saudi Arabia 10.91%

4. Korea 9.09%

5. China 8.64%

6. France 7.73%

7. Thailand 6.36%

8. Italy 4.55%

8. Spain 4.55%

8. Turkey 4.55%

Other Nationalities:

UAE, Libya, Germany, Japan,Qatar, Kuwait, Hungary, Oman, Poland, Angola, Belarus, Canada, Colombia, Iran

Daniella is our new Assistant Accommodation and Welfare Officer. She graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2007 where she studied performing arts and music. She plays guitar and piano and hopes to train as a music teacher in the future. She has also studied in Spain and enjoys travelling and learning about new cultures.

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved in this year's Oxford Fun Run. It was a huge success, with over 300 runners taking part, and £10,000 raised for local charities. Many thanks to our sponsors including IALC, Quality English, Language Travel Magazine, OUP, Macmillan ELT. Following the run there was a chance for all the runners to unwind at the Fun Run BBQ held at our school.

1 Korea 15.08%

2 Switzerland 14.57%

3 Germany 11.56%

4 China 10.05%

5 Thailand 6.53%

6 Italy 6.03%

7 Saudi Arabia 5.53%

7 Turkey 5.53%

9 UAE 4.52%

10 Qatar 3.52%

Other Nationalities:

France, Spain, Japan, Libya, Poland, Iran, Oman, Angola, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Kuwait, Nigeria, Venezuela

Our teachers and students will run to raise money for people with disabilities in Oxford. We are now in training!

For more information, please visit:

http://www.oxfordfunrun.org.uk

1. Japan 17.56%

2. France 14.19%

3. Swiss 10.44%

4. Korea 9.43%

5. Saudi Arabia 5.72%

6. Turkey 4.71%

7. China 4.04%

7. Germany 4.04%

7. Thailand 4.04%

10. Italy 3.37%

Other Nationalities: UAE, Spain, Libya, Qatar, Hungary, Iran, Poland, Venezuela, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Oman, Slovenia

-Verge Das Neves-

Verge is currently a student at Oxford Brookes University doing a Masters in Business Administration. At the moment he is working on the activities schedule for the school. He originally comes from South Africa where he completed his Honours Degree in Television Journalism at Rhodes University. Verge loves the tradition and beauty of Oxford but misses the lovely sunshine of his home town. Along with having an interest in media and marketing, he enjoys travelling and playing sports.

~Social Activity Report~

Students enjoyed a pancake party & consumed over 200 pancakes in Caramba, the OEC Cafe!

The traditional pancake is slightly thicker than a French crêpe. It is served immediately after preparation and was traditionally served with a meat-based stew, although in modern times a sprinkling of sugar & lemon juice has become more common

in February

1. Korea 21.21%

2. Japan 15.76%

3.Saudi Arabia 10.30%

4. France 7.27%

5. Switzerland 6.67%

6. Turkey 6.06%

7. China 5.45%

8. Italy 4.24%

9. Argentina 3.64%

9. Spain 3.64%

Other Nationalities: Libya, UAE, Germany, Qatar, Angola, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Iran, Oman, Romania, Russia, Venezuela

Welcome back to Vaughan, Jon and Sue, all Macmillan ELT authors. Vaughan Jones, Sue Kay and Jon Hird returned this month to the OEC teaching staff. They have all been involved in writing the "Inside Out" series, as well as "Move".

1. Brazil 23.01%

2. Korea 12.93%

3. Sitzerland 9.52%

4.SaudiArabia 7.48%

5. Germany 5.44%

6. Turkey 4.08%

7. Libya 4.08%

8. Japan 3.40%

9. China 2.72%

10. France 2.72%

Other nationalities: Angola, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Iran, Italy, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Spain, Ukraine, UAE

We welcomed a new student "Mr Snowman" today :)

Thank you for all of your support last year!

We have had a lovely 2008 and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2009.