When school is closed, English Country Guardians can arrange for students to stay in a home near their school. They will be cared for by a host family. This is known as a “homestay”.
Hosts provide a warm and loving atmosphere to look after students when they aren't at school. A host family is different from a guardian.
When international students come to the UK for boarding school, they will stay at school during term time. However, there are a few occasions during the year when schools are closed or students might not be able to fly home.
Homestays are a convenient option for times such as these:
Staying with a British family is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about the way of life in England and to further improve their language skills.
English Country Guardians has over 10 years of experience in finding and selecting the best home environment for international students who are studying in the UK.
If you are based in the UK and are interested in learning how you can host an international student when they're not staying in their boarding school, then we'd love to hear from you!
New host families are registered via our parent company, Academic Families. Click on the button below to fill in the host family registration form and we'll contact you to review our screening process and expectations.
With so much variety in the UK, there is no “typical” host family.
Some of our hosts are grandparents, many have children or pets, and others are couples who don't have any children of their own. We also have hosts who have lived overseas, and some have attended boarding school themselves when they were younger.
What do they all have in common? Each one understands the needs of international students and will ensure they balance their time between studies and enjoying quality, relaxing breaks getting out to explore England while they are here.
We work with dozens of host families across the UK who welcome international students with open arms and provide a supportive home away from home.
The host families that English Country Guardians work with are:
For your child’s convenience, we aim to place them with a host family that is located as close as possible to their boarding school. Above all, the most important thing is for all our students to feel at home throughout their school years in the UK.
Our experienced team will find a host family to best suit each international student - both in terms of interests and location.
And as part of the Academic Families group, our greater network of host families extends all across the UK and includes families living in cities, towns and rural areas which is ideal for longer holidays giving your child the chance to explore the UK.
All of our hosts understand the needs of children and teenagers, and will ensure your child doesn’t spend all their time in bed, studying, or on their phone. In addition to a warm and welcoming environment, your child can expect the following:
As part of the Academic Families group, our English Country Guardians programme fully supports you and your child with all the local assistance you require year round. In addition to our host family services, for those students who would benefit from some extra academic support, we also offer English or exam revision courses.
English Country Guardians is part of the Academic Families group, which has a wealth of resources you can access to learn more about the boarding school environment and what to expect when your child attends school in the UK.
Below is a selection of posts from our Academic Families blog library.
Contact us to discuss your guardianship requirements.
© 2025 English Country Guardians | part of the Academic Families group
