Page 15 - Oundle Life September 2024

HOSTING
AT HOME
Pippa’s Guardians
Pippa’s Guardians provides guardianship services to international students at independent boarding schools across the UK, including those at Oundle School. When schools close for exeat weekends or
students to stay with us as the family in Spain had done for my daughter.
How did you find the process of being vetted in order to host? Very easy. After a chat with
half terms, if these overseas students do not travel back to their home country, they must be hosted by a local family.
Here, host Kendal Yardley discusses her experiences of being a host family for over a decade.
This got me thinking that maybe we could offer the opportunity for students to stay with us
someone at Pippa’s Guardians on the telephone, a few days later the area manager covering Oundle came to visit myself and my husband at our home. They went through the application process, explaining everything to us and answering our questions. We showed the area manager around
our home, and she met our dogs and daughters – who were still living at home at the time. Pippa’s Guardians then took care of the DBS (criminal records) check that was needed.
What made you want to start
hosting? When my 13-year-old
daughter gained a scholarship to a
tennis academy in Spain she lived with
a host family, who I was indebted to.
They made her transition to Spain incredibly easy, and knowing she felt safe and comfortable made it much easier for us. This got me thinking that maybe we could offer the opportunity for
How many students have you hosted, and what was is like meeting your first student? I’ve lost count, as we’ve hosted lots of students over the years, of varying ages – some as young
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