The ABC’s Lateline visited a special Melbourne Cup event held by AMES at Ringwood this week.

Teacher Chris Walters and several AMES English students entered into the Spring Racing spirit with food, fashion and fun.

Lateline reporter Karen Percy reported on how the students were bemused by the fact that a public holiday was held because of a horse race.

“For these migrants in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Ringwood, it’s not just the words “sweep”, “jockey” and “track” that are unfamiliar, it is the whole idea of a race stopping a nation that’s hard to fathom,” Karen reported.

“Melbourne Cup is just a lot of fun. Then we are racing the horse and we have a lot of food here and many friends are meeting here,” one student told the ABC.

AMES teacher Chris Walters said the day was a roaring success and everyone had fun.

“It was great to share a bit of Australian tradition with the students,” she said.

You can view the ABC Lateline footage here.