Every year, thousands of school age overseas students are educated at independent schools across the UK. When their school closes for half term holidays and exeat weekends, they need a great host family who will provide a home away from home. Travel restrictions, as a result of the pandemic, have meant that international students have needed host families more than ever, with many students having been unable to return home to their families since August last year.
Ben Hughes, Managing Director for Pippa’s Guardians, who care for many international students in the UK, explained “The families we look for are welcoming and are interested in other cultures. Having children of similar ages helps but isn’t the most important thing as we have many successful host families who have no children, younger children or indeed older children who have left home. Each student will need their own bedroom with a desk or somewhere quiet for homework. Being part of a family and experiencing day-to-day family life enhances students’ study and plays a part in improving their English language”
Becoming a host family can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for the family too; providing the opportunity to really make a difference to a student whilst they are studying here in the UK, in many cases a very long way from home. Marina and Stewart Fung have been a host family for 3 years “We initially saw a flyer on a local noticeboard, I decided to get in touch since we have a spare room and have both always been keen travellers and love experiencing other cultures. We relish any opportunity to meet people from other countries as we feel that this exchange enhances everyone’s life, the chance to earn some money in doing so was also appealing. We have young children who have also benefited from the experience, they also really enjoyed playing football with an older child and taught each other some English/Chinese too!”
If you are interested in hosting a student, please contact hostfamilies@pippasguardians.co.uk
