Quick summary
• Homestay accommodation means living with a carefully selected local host family.
• Students have a safe, welcoming home environment during their course.
• Meals are included and families are checked before hosting students.
• It helps students practise English outside the classroom.
Of all the questions I receive from parents before their child arrives at Isca, the ones about homestay accommodation are the most frequent – and the most understandable. You are sending your son or daughter to live in a stranger’s home in another country. Of course you want to know exactly what that means.
I have been selecting and working with our host families for many years, and I am personally involved in that process. Here is an honest, detailed account of what homestay life at Isca is really like.
How we choose our host families
Every host family is carefully selected by me. I visit their homes, check their references and carry out the necessary safeguarding checks before they host any student. Our families are not strangers to us -many of them have been hosting Isca students for years, and some have become genuine friends of the school.
Our families choose to host students because they want to share their home and their culture. They are welcoming, patient, and genuinely interested in the young people who come to stay with them.
Your bedroom
You will have your own clean, comfortable bedroom with a bed, adequate storage space, heating and lighting. The room is yours for the duration of your stay. You may share your room with another student of a different nationality but the same gender.
We ask all students to keep their bedroom tidy, make their bed each morning and leave the bathroom in a clean condition after use. Your host family is opening their home to you -please treat it with care and respect.
Meals
Your host family will provide breakfast and an evening meal every weekday. At weekends they will also provide lunch. Your host family will give you a packed lunch from Monday to Friday and for the Saturday excursion.
Meals are an important part of the homestay experience. Please sit at the table with your family, chat with them and do not leave before the meal is finished. This is not just good manners – it is one of the best opportunities you will have to practise your English in a natural, relaxed setting.
Please let us know in advance about any dietary requirements, allergies or food that you are unable to eat for religious or cultural reasons. We will make sure your host family is fully informed before you arrive.
Getting around – the bus
On your first day, your host family will show you the bus stop near your home and bring you to school themselves. From Tuesday onwards, you will travel independently by bus. We will explain the bus routes on your first day and give you a map. Your bus pass is included – you will receive it with your Welcome Pack if you need one.
Communication and contact
Please give your host family your mobile phone number on arrival, and make sure you have theirs. If you are running late for dinner or your plans change, send them a message- they will appreciate it.
Your parents at home can call you on your mobile phone at any time. You should not use your host family’s landline for personal calls, except to call the Isca school office or the emergency services.
What if there is a problem?
If you are unhappy about anything at your host family’s home – the food, your room, a misunderstanding -please come and speak to us at school straight away. We can always help to resolve issues, but only if we know about them. Please do not wait until the end of your stay.
Our office team is available every day, and I am personally available 24 hours a day to you.
A word from me
In my experience, the students who make the most of their homestay are the ones who treat their host family as exactly that – a family. Ask them questions about their lives. Tell them about yours. Watch television together in the evening. These simple things make your English improve faster than any classroom lesson, and they turn a stay in a stranger’s house into something genuinely memorable.
We look forward to welcoming you. -Sarah Tomlinson, Principal