How to Help your International Students Feel at Home

It’s that time of year when the excitement is building for your new boarders to join you in September. They will be packing their bags, saying their goodbyes, and getting ready for their trip to join you. But for some it is a particularly long journey. Or even the first time they will be travelling overseas. So, how can you help ease this big transition for them , and help them feel at home?

1. Before they leave…

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Send your new boarders a check list of things to bring with them that might help them ease into life in the UK. If they’ve never travelled overseas before, they may not know to pack their Passport and Visa information in their hand luggage, so that it’s easily accessible at Border control. Amongst the big job of packing for their travels, they may forget home comforts like their favourite teddy, or a big warm jumper and an umbrella to brave the changeable British weather. Reminding them of these items, although small, will make a big difference when they arrive, particularly for younger boarders.

2. A warm welcome

They and their family will have put a lot of careful thought and consideration into choosing your school. When they arrive, make sure they know that you appreciate that, by welcoming your new students warmly. It could be by organising a British afternoon tea, a friendly pick-up from the airport, assigning them a friendly ‘buddy’ either of their own nationality or another student who knows the school well and can show them the ropes. It could also be simply making sure they have everything they need when they first arrive - from a choice of foods, to a wifi connection to call Mum and Dad back home.

3. Family photos

Encourage your new boarders to print and hang up photos from home in their new room. Most will have them on their devices, but there’s nothing like walking into your new room in a foreign country, to be greeting by the grinning faces of your friends and family stuck on your wall. 

4. Sports

Sport can offer a welcome distraction, as well as providing opportunities to make life long friends. Getting your boarders involved in sports, particularly team sports, can also help them settle into UK life more quickly. It can feel intimidating joining a new school and trying a new sport you haven’t played before, or trying to participate in a training session or match with other students who have been playing together for years. Try a boarders only sports event, or assign a designated ‘Sports Buddy’ to talk to new boarders to encourage them to come along to training. It can be extra powerful and welcoming message coming from a peer rather than a teacher, and will help them make friends and settle into school life.

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