How do you match students and host families?
Host Families, Students
It’s a question we get asked a lot – by parents, students and hosts! We understand the importance of getting a match that works well
Host families provide a home away from home where
a student can go during school breaks.
By welcoming one of our students and guiding them through UK life during a homestay, you'll be opening up a whole world of opportunities where everyone learns from each other. In short, you give a little and gain a lot!
By sharing your family life and experiences, you'll be helping our international students learn new life skills and gain confidence at a key time in their development.
When you welcome our students into your home, you'll be helping them feel like a part of your family, experience UK culture, learn positive life lessons and assimilate more easily. Because Academic Families takes care of all the time-consuming arrangements and funds the fun, as a host you're free to focus on making your student feel at home and enjoy your time together.
Academic Families provides guardianship care to international students who come to boarding school in the UK. This encompasses looking after students, as well as managing host families.
We are responsible for our students when they are not in school and we liaise with parents, schools and hosts to ensure international students are well looked after.
Hosts do not make any direct arrangements - they simply enjoy the fun of hosting! International students come to the UK for schooling and also to improve their language skills, make new friends and experience UK culture. Spending time with a host family is a great way to enrich their experience.
Hosting an international student also offers great benefits for your own family including:
Academic Families' hosts provide safe, welcoming support for international students when they're far from their own family. Being at school is a vital part of our students' education in the UK, but it's also important to have a change of scene, unwind, meet new people and try out different experiences.
As a host you'll be offering your student a valuable life experience by:
Your student will have time away from school to:
Safety and security
Advice and guidance
Emotional support
Make new friends and
develop social skills
Practice languages skills with native English speakers
Navigate cultural
differences
Academic Families offers a support system built on empathy, peace of mind, emotional support, guidance, and help with navigating cultural differences.
Our host families:
Academic Families looks after students from over 40 countries and we work with host families all across the UK.
We are always on the lookout for families who can provide a safe, welcoming homestay environment for an international student.
We are a Safer Recruiter to ensure the highest standards in child protection.
Academic Families are an amazing company. They are very professional, helpful and a pleasure to work with.
My family and I enjoy hosting children from around the world and Academic Families assist in every way to make it a pleasant and enjoyable experience for us and they also support the children 100%. They want to make sure you as the host are as happy as the children you are hosting.
A 10/10 service. Recommend highly!
Jan, host family in Edinburgh
Discover Dubai or London or Best of UK Tour
October Half-Term
Ski in Europe
February Half-Term
Adventure in Greece
May Half-Term
Academic Families has personal and professional experience with boarding schools. Many of our staff attended boarding schools themselves when they were young or have worked in them. We have all lived overseas and most of us are mothers, so we understand how important it is to find the very best education for every child no matter where that might be in the world.
From our headquarters in Edinburgh to our local staff across the UK, our team regularly visits hundreds of British schools. Our excellent knowledge of the UK education system, accreditation by the Boarding School Association (BSA) and certification from the British Council means we understand UK boarding education from the inside and out, and know how to ensure the best education for each child.
In addition, our guardianship service has been Gold accredited by AEGIS (the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) since 2016 and also by the BSA, so you know, with Academic Families, you're guaranteed to have the best local support anywhere in the UK.
Moreover, our team are trained MHFA Mental Health First Aiders so we are qualified to support our students with any wellbeing and mental health concerns.
© 2024 Academic Families | Academic Families is a Safer Recruiter