Teach17

For international students studying in the UK, life away from home can bring practical, emotional and cultural challenges. Cambridge Guardian Angels provides personalised education guardianship, connecting students, parents, schools and host families while keeping each child’s safety and wellbeing at the centre.

1. Cambridge Guardian Angels supports international students attending boarding and day schools across England.
2. An education guardian is not the same as a legal guardian. It is a trusted UK-based representative appointed by parents to support their child while they study here.
3. Its guardianship packages are tailored to the individual student rather than built around a single standard service.
4. Support can begin before the student arrives, with an introductory meeting to help the child and their parents prepare for school life in the UK.
5. The team can arrange for a checked driver to meet the student at the airport and take them safely to school.
6. Students and parents have access to 24-hour emergency support, providing reassurance when families may be thousands of miles away or in a different time zone.
7. The organisation acts as a link between the student, their parents, the school and the host family, helping important information reach the right people quickly.
8. Guardians can attend school meetings and events on behalf of parents, then provide feedback about the student’s progress and wellbeing.
9. Academic support is part of the wider service. This may include mentoring, explaining school reports, finding tutors and helping students prepare for examinations.
10. Support is not limited to academic results. The team also helps students manage homesickness, cultural differences, friendships and the everyday pressures of living away from home.
11. Cambridge Guardian Angels arranges host-family accommodation for exeat weekends, half terms and other occasions when a boarding school is closed.
12. Prospective host families receive a home visit, references are collected and relevant family members undergo DBS checks. Approved homes are also reinspected annually.
13. Families are matched carefully. Factors such as location, pets, diet, cultural needs, personality and the student’s preferred home environment can all be considered.
14. Host families offer more than accommodation. They give students a welcoming “home from home” and an opportunity to experience everyday British family life.
15. The team includes people with experience in teaching, school nursing, international education, student welfare, languages and raising children overseas. Its regional support extends from Cambridge and London to East Anglia, the South East and the North of England.
16. Cambridge Guardian Angels holds AEGIS Gold Standard accreditation and is a member of the Boarding Schools’ Association Guardianship Scheme. AEGIS reported that participating schools were extremely satisfied with the organisation’s communication and described its service as friendly, helpful and professional.
17. Ultimately, its role is to make sure an international student has somebody nearby who knows them, notices when something is wrong and is ready to step in. That consistent personal relationship can be just as important as arranging transport, accommodation or school meetings.

Find out more through the Cambridge Guardian Angels website or follow Cambridge Guardian Angels on LinkedIn.