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Homestay
We understand that many people are nervous about staying with a host family. Sometimes this is because of bad memories of school exchange trips. Well forget that level of accommodation! Kingsway host families are superb and we highly recommend them; 95% of our students choose to stay with a host family and the overwhelming majority are very pleased with their choice.
Staying with a host family is an excellent way of maximising your English language learning opportunities at the same time as having comfortable accommodation & experiencing English lifestyle. Many of our students also find that they become close friends with their hosts and that they stay in touch for years afterwards. We know of many hosts who have visited their ex-students in their home countries.
Please note that we use the expressions “host family” and “homestay provider” and they both mean the same thing. But the modern definition of “family” means many different things, not necessarily 2 parents and 2.5 children! Many of our hosts are single adults (divorced, widowed etc) with or without children. We don’t use families with babies as this is too stressful for everyone!
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Quality Control
Our Accommodation Manager visits every potential host family in person and needs to feel totally satisfied that they are suitable for hosting our students. Each family is required to sign a “Code of Practice” so that they are very clear about what we expect from them. Once a family is on our register we monitor them constantly, through End-of-Course questionnaires filled in by students and through re-visiting them every year. If a family’s circumstances change and they are unable to deliver the high quality service that we expect, the answer is simple: we stop using them. As we have a waiting list of families who want to work with Kingsway, we do not need to continue using sub-standard accommodation. We offer 3 categories of homestay accommodation but, whichever you choose, you will have your own bedroom and be treated as a member of the family. You will also have breakfast (not necessarily with the family as this is a busy time of day and people leave for work/school at different times) and an evening meal with the family. Evening Meal
The main meal of the day is dinner which you will eat in the evening with your host family. Times vary but anytime between 18h30 and 20h30 is normal. Most of our students are pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of English home-cooking! You can expect your hosts to provide good quality, well-balanced home-cooked meals using fresh ingredients. |
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Categories of Homestay Accommodation
Homestay “Regular” £126/week
Every home and every situation is different but your accommodation will be clean & comfortable and your hosts will be friendly. You will share bathroom facilities with others in the family.
Homestay
“Premium” £175/week
Families are given the “ Premium” category for different reasons but generally because of a prestigious address or exceptional facilities. In some cases it’s because the families are prepared to host students who have very complicated diets! You will probably share bathroom facilities with others in the family.
Homestay “Executive” £224/week
This accommodation is very similar to
“Premium” but with a private bathroom guaranteed. We have a limited number of “Executive” families on our register so don’t leave booking until the last minute!
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT KINGSWAY’S HOST FAMILIES
- Most are non-smokers (about 80%)
- Most have pets (usually a cat or dog)
- Most turn off the central heating at night (even in winter!)
- Many are single adult households with or without children
- All have their main meal (dinner) in the evenings during the week.
- All live within the city limits – the nearest are a 10-minute walk and the furthest are a 45-minute walk or a short bus-ride (but distance is the least important factor when choosing a family!)
- All are friendly and welcoming and look forward to hosting our students
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