I went down to Sherborne in Dorset last weekend. My youngest son, Alan Willows, is a cricket professional at a school there.

Alan has just returned from a seven-month cricket contract with a top school in Cape Town, called Newlands, which sits under Table Mountain and is famous for its grounds. Alan has coached many schools and clubs in South Africa over the years.

Anyway, I was sitting in the garden, enjoying the marvellous weather with my grandchildren - Lauren, aged ten, and Gregory, who is six.

Alan's wife, Mardeen, is from Cape Town. All the Willows family moved there for the seven months of his contract and the children attended school there for that time.

In Sherborne, the children were singing their heads off and I could not understand one word they were saying. When they had finished, I said to Lauren, "What was that song?" "Oh, granddad," she said, "that was the South African National Anthem."

The children had stood to attention and sung with great pride - in Afrikaan.

I said how on earth did you learn that so quickly? Well, every morning the first thing the whole school does is sing the South African National Anthem.

Now before any of you politically correct do-gooders out there start screaming about immigrants and Muslims, just keep reading.

The school has Chinese, Japanese, Asian, black, coloured and white students. I reckon if all politicians of all parties, plus councillors of all parties, could rev up the engine, we could make our children very proud of our country and give them pride once again by singing our British National Anthem every morning on commencement of school.

It sounds a great idea. Well, I think so. Nobody has greater history than we proud Brits. There are thousands out there so proud to be British. That's what once made this country great.

Oh, by the way, I said to my grandchildren, now sing the British National Anthem. But they said "so sorry, granddad, we don't know it". What a serious situation this grand old country of ours is in.

-Councillor Peter Willows, Hangleton Valley Drive, Hove