Families from across the Bristol, Bath and West Wiltshire region are being invited to host overseas students planning to study in the region.
Every year, thousands of overseas students are educated at independent schools across the UK. During half term holidays and at weekends, students usually stay with a host family who provide a home away from home. The last couple of years have been especially tough for international students, with travel restrictions in place, many children did not see their own families for many months.
Pippa’s Guardians is a local company who have been providing high quality Guardianship services to international students for over 25 years and understand the value of a good home and how a host family can positively impact on a student’s wellbeing. Being part of a family and experiencing day-to-day family life enhances students’ study and plays a part in improving their English language.
“We are looking for families in Bath, Bristol and West Wiltshire who are welcoming and interested in other cultures,” said Charlie Lloyd, the Pippa’s Guardians Area Manager for Bristol and Bath. “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.
“Becoming a host family is a wonderful experience, 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. Plus, Pippa’s Guardians offer a generous remuneration.
For children of host families it can be really exciting and interesting getting to know children from other countries and cultures. For families whose children have grown up and left home, it is a chance to enjoy the fun and companionship of having younger people in the home once again.
Anne Weir has recently hosted a student from Singapore. “She was a delight to host, polite, helpful and a pleasure to have around,” said Anne. “She worked hard on her school work and was very focused on her revision and the practical work she did for her food technology course. She even cooked us a three-course meal as part of her school work which was a great success.”
Hosting an international student is a marvellous and interesting way to learn about the cultures, traditions and daily life of young people and their families from countries very different to our own. Many host families form lifelong friendships with our students and their families and stay in touch even after they have left school for university.
Host families are needed for students joining local schools this September. If you are interested in hosting a student, please get in touch email hidden; JavaScript is required www.pippasguardians.co.uk