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The West Dorset Magazine, February 11, 2022
Education
A home-from-home for students A plea has gone out to families in West Dorset who could provide a safe and welcoming home to overseas students. There are hundreds of overseas students being educated at independent schools in the county, and during half-term holidays and at weekends, students usually stay with a host family who provide a home away from home. Host families often form strong bonds with their guests, which can often last a lifetime. For more than 20 years, Pippa’s Guardians have been providing high quality guardianship services to international students and understand the value of a good home and how a host family can enhance a student’s well-being. Charlotte Wilson of Pippa’s Guardians said: “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 who 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.” Host families can make a big difference to a student whilst they are studying here in the UK, in many cases a very long way from home and Pippa’s Guardians offer generous
TAKING CARE: Pippa’s Guardians have been looking after international students for more than 20 years
fees. Charlotte added: “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 became a host family in 2019. She said: “Both of my children went to an international school in Germany, and my daughter was at a boarding school for a number of years. “I remember how hard it was for international children, whose families lived far away, to travel home and back for weekends and shorter holidays, and it is even tougher now since the pandemic. “It was important to me that international students have a place to go, where they feel safe and able to relax. “I live alone in our family home with a beautiful garden in a quiet and rural location and I felt I could offer these children a place where they could recharge their batteries on their school break.” Anne recently hosted a student from Singapore. “She was a delight to host, polite, helpful and a pleasure to have around. She worked hard on her schoolwork 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.” Host families are needed for students joining local schools this September. n If you are interested in hosting a student, email hostfamilies@ pippasguardians.co.uk
