Every year, thousands of 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 to provide a home away from home.

Pippa’s Guardians has 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. 

The families we look for are welcoming and 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. Being part of a family and experiencing day-to-day family life enhances students’ study and plays a part in improving their English language. 

As well as receiving a generous payment, becoming a Pippa’s Guardians 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.

For children of host families it can be really exciting and interesting getting to know other children who have had very different life experiences to them. For families where 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.

Kathy Redman who lives in Surrey, began hosting international students from Pippa’s Guardians in 2021. Kathy thoroughly enjoys hosting students and getting to know them, taking students to places locally and in London is a favourite part of her role. "Not only do the students I host learn but I also feel it broadens my horizons too, I learn about their cultures and enjoy visiting museums with them and learning something new. I feel privileged to open my home to students so far from their own".

It 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 of our 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 contact hostfamilies@pippasguardians.co.uk