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Host Homes in Torbay

Up to 45 minutes from school

This popular choice of accommodation is ideal for students who are interested in learning about and experiencing life with a typical English host and regularly practicing their English. Our hosts can include retired couples, families with children, a childless couple, a single parent, or a single person.

Member of the Family
Students are invited to take part in their hosts’ everyday life and be treated as a member of the family, therefore they should be prepared to adapt as much as possible to their hosts’ daily routines and habits.

Food preferences
To help both host and student make the most of their stay, students are encouraged to tell their hosts what kind of food they like or dislike, and to communicate times for dinner or coming home at night, which helps both host and student make the most of their stay. Agreeing times in advance allows for planning as ideally students will have dinner together with the family where they will be able to learn about the “family life” and practise English with their hosts at the same time Students are not normally expected to use the kitchen or take food from their hosts’ cupboards or fridge without asking.

Keys, linen and laundry
To be independent, students are usually given their own house key. The family will provide bed linen and assistance with laundry can be offered, but reasonably priced local launderettes are also available nearby. Bath towels are provided, but beach towels are not provided.

Selecting host families
Many 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 staff in accordance with the British Council requirements.

Location:
Within Torbay, usually less than 30 minutes on foot or by local transport

Matching families to students

Date of birth
Diet requirements
Nationality
Country of birth
First Language
Other languages spoken
Allergies to food/ animals/ chemicals etc
Flight details
Religion
Smoker/Non-smoker
Sex
English Language Level
Any other needs

Household animals
Keeping household pets is common in the UK. Please make sure that you let us know when you complete your registration form if students have an allergy or fear of a specific animal. We will always do our best to fulfil your request. However, while we will always allocate students with pet allergies in pet-free host homes, allergies will have priority over a simple dislike of pets. We would not necessarily discount placing a student with an otherwise perfect ‘matching’ host because of a small pet (e.g. a cat), unless there was a medical reason to do so.

Smoking
Many of our host families are smokers and accept students who smoke. If you have medical conditions (e.g. asthma) it is important that you let us know as soon as possible. If you wish to stay with a non-smoking family, please make sure you inform us and we will do our best to fulfil your request. However, students who are non-smokers may sometimes be placed with smoking families who only smoke outside the house and away from students.

Dietary requirements
Many students will have special requirements, and we will normally be able to accommodate these if we are given sufficient notice. As definitions of dietary type vary, it is important that such requests are clear. If a student wishes to avoid eating certain types of meat, for religious, ethical or other reasons such as health concerns, please state exactly what they do or do not eat. If a student wishes to avoid British beef, for example, please state this specifically, it is much easier to accommodate such a request than it is to arrange a full vegetarian diet and then find it is not what they want.

English definitions: