Most students who come to study at Cavendish choose this option because living with an English family is a great way to practise their spoken English outside of school & gain a deeper understanding of the local culture and customs.
All of our host families are carefully selected, and closely monitored by our experienced Accommodation Officers. Actually, most of our host families have hosted Cavendish students for a number of years. We are normally able to cater for students’ special needs, as long as we have details about their requirements at least four weeks before the commencement of the course.
Things that you should know about host family accommodation:
Member of the Family
Our students will get the most from their stay if they take part in their hosts’ everyday life and be treated as a member of the family, so they should be prepared to adapt as much as possible to their hosts’ daily routines and habits.
Bedroom
Our students can expect a clean, comfortable room, with a bed, desk, drawer and wardrobe space. Clean sheets and towels must be provided by the host families once a week.
Bath/shower
Students can have at least one bath or shower per day.
Laundry
Host families must provide one load of washing once a week. This is free of charge.
Keys
To be independent, students are usually given their own house key.
Selecting host families
Most of our host families have been caring for our students for many years, and we are always recruiting new families to add to our register. All our families are inspected regularly by our accommodation team in accordance with the British Council requirements.
Location
These families are within walking distance or short bus ride from the school.
Household pets
Keeping household pets is common in the UK. Students must let us know when they complete the registration form if they have an allergy or fear of a specific animal.
Smoking
The majority of our host families are non-smokers but we do however have host families who will accept students who smoke. Most will only allow students to smoke outside the home.
Meals
Accommodation is half-board during the week (breakfast and dinner) and full-board at weekends (bed, breakfast, packed lunch and dinner).Students are not normally able to use the kitchen to cook their own food.
