Study at State High Schools in England
Study at a state high school in England, whilst living in
the local community with a friendly host family. Each year we
provide a very personal service to a small number
of students looking to study at a state high school in
England. Over the years students have acheived great success during
their study period at state high schools in England, which is
of great benefit to them, the school and the local English
students.
We offer an excellent opportunity to improve a student's English
in a normal school environment, studying subjects and enjoying
extra-curricular activities with their new English friends.
Important Points
- Flexible study periods for 16+ year olds (younger if less than
6 months)
- A choice of schools available for all abilities
- One academic year from £15,350 (see Fees tab below)
- Secure a school place prior to financial commitment
- Host family relationship prior to study period
- No closing date for applications
- Apply through Barnes for a truly English experience in caring
schools that really work hard to integrate our international
students.
Exceptional Host Families and Guardianship in England
Our family organisation understanding
In 1975 with their own large family, Peter and Gaynor Barnes set
up Barnes Educational Services. They understood the importance of
providing a safe and caring environment to allow students to thrive
whilst studying abroad at a state high school in England. The
reputation for providing excellent host families in England to care
for their students was soon recognised by The British Council.
By limiting the total number of students each year, you build up
a close relationship with our small family team from your initial
enquiry. Whatever time of day or night it is we can always react
quickly since we are in the same country as your child with
personal knowledge of their area and everybody involved with caring
for them. We understand how important it is for students and their
parents to have somebody available that truly cares about them.
Host families
We often hear parents say that they worry about the idea of
their son/daughter staying with a host family in England whom they
do not know. This is often the case where perhaps they have met a
youngster who has told some "horror" story about his/her
experience, perhaps when they attended a short summer language
course and stayed with a local host family. Unfortunately there are
some organisations that do not take great care when selecting
families, but we will only use families that measure up to the high
standards we have followed since 1975. To maintain these high
standards we keep in regular contact with our families throughout
the year.
When choosing families the overriding decision is always based
on the family's desire to share their life and experiences with
students giving them a real insight into the British culture. All
our host families are different, as are our students, but we work
hard to place like- minded host families and students together in
each area to promote happy relationships forming. Moreover, most of
our families host students for a number of years, since they enjoy
the experience as much as our students enjoy it.
Our host families recognise that students will need a balance
between family activities and private time. Each student will
always be provided with their own comfortable bedroom with storage
for their belongings so they always have somewhere to relax on
their own. Our host families will always encourage a student to
give appropriate time to their private studies and will provide a
study area away from distractions.
We pride ourselves on the quality of host families we can
provide since we know that they contribute greatly towards the
success of the arrangement.
Mixing with English students
We ensure the overall percentage of international students is
low in each school and place in schools that take time to help our
students mix with local English students. This maximises our
students' opportunity to improve their English by building
friendships with mainly English students, giving them the best
opportunity to really learn what it is like to live as an English
teenager.
Guardianship in England
A worry that many parents have is what happens to their child if
there is a problem involving perhaps the host family or the state
high school in England. Our guardianship service is such that we
take over the responsibility of caring for the welfare of your son
or daughter. If they have a problem they may contact us or our
local representative at any time when we will be pleased to help.
Moreover, the schools and host families know that they are free to
contact us if they are aware of any difficulties.
We carefully choose a local representative that we
completely trust to assist the small number of students and host
families living only a few minutes from them and a small network of
support is developed centred around our local
representative.
It is interesting to point out that most state high schools in
the UK will not accept an overseas student unless he/she has an
appointed guardian or the benefit of a guardianship service in
England such as we provide. State high schools are not geared up to
care for students outside of school, especially on weekends and in
the half term holidays. Our host families are there to support and
guide your child in any situation, whether they are adjusting
to living away from home, struggling with their homework or wanting
to increase their social group by joining a club in their spare
time. In extreme situations it is possible that a student needs to
be moved to an alternative family quickly and so our guardianship
service provides for a solution to resolve this need, whether this
is due to an illness, an emergency or in a very small number of
cases over the years where we have all decided it is better to move
a student to a different family. The full guardianship agreement we
offer is essential for the welfare of students studying away from
their parents.
Preparation
Once a school place has been secured we make all the
arrangements in the UK on your behalf. Each child is
individually prepared for their study period. We assist families
who would like to visit the state high schools in England and the
local area before the study period begins (not necessarily
essential). After introducing you to your host family we encourage
you to build up a relationship with them to help you settle into
your study period quickly.
Shortly into your stay, your local representative will arrange a
gathering giving you a chance to meet the small number of other
Barnes students in the local area.
Legal compliance
In addition to our extremely high standards and vast experience
in selecting suitable host families we follow the latest legal
guidance in the UK and we pay to check the background of all adult
members of our host families by seeking information from a British
Government department known as the Disclosure and Barring
Service.
Attend an excellent State High School in England
Choice is important
We believe in each student attending the right
state high school in England for them. This greatly assists in
their happiness during their period of study. We consider all the
information collated about you and recommend two or three* state
high schools which are best suited to your needs. We provide
unlimited consultancy and advice and do not ask for any financial
commitment until an offer has been made by a school. Not
all state high schools in England are happy to accept international
students.
We have been working with state high schools since 1975 who
recognise the presence of our international students has a
beneficial effect on their English students and are able or happy
to invest time integrating them into their school.
A small selection of our schools
Here follows a small selection of the types of state high
schools in England that we could recommend to you after considering
your application in detail.
* very occasionally the combination of the
student's age, requested study period, specialist subjects and
other criteria might mean that there is only one state
high school that can meet all the needs of a student.
Study abroad in England at a State High School
Studying abroad in England while living with a carefully
selected host family has significant benefits for any student -
improving a foreign language, living within a different culture,
learning a different approach to studying, becoming independent,
building lifelong relationships, and building confidence. Many
students decide that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages and
take time out of their school back home to spend a High School
year in England. Other students wish to study abroad for a shorter
period and return home to their same year group.
If you can't find a study period to suit you please contact us
to see if we can work out a way for you to study abroad.
State high school fees
School Year: September 2024 until June/July 2025
- For pupils aged 16+ on 31st August (younger than 16 if for less
than 6 months)
- A-Levels and International Baccalaureate
- Living with a host family
- Guardianship Inclusive!
- Our most popular and cost-effective option (from GBP 16,050*
per study year)
- No application fee payable
Length of stay / Total fee
One study year (3 terms) |
September - June / July |
From £16050* |
Trimester |
September - Xmas |
From £7230 to
£7950 |
|
January - Easter |
|
|
Easter - July |
|
Semester |
September - Jan / Feb |
From £7950 to £10085 |
|
Jan / Feb - Jun / Jul |
|
Taster programme |
4 weeks |
£3080 |
|
Each additional 2 weeks |
£1090 |
Students must be 16 years old on 31st August for a full study
year (n/a if less than 6 months).
A "From" price is shown since the actual price varies according
to the location, the course followed, the study period and the
school to be attended. In all cases we endeavour to offer a choice
of suitable schools for each applicant at the lowest price
possible.
* - Students studying for one or two study years. This price is
only available when the full study year is committed to before the
start of the course. Students will need a Student Visa to complete
a whole academic year (not required for shorter study periods).
Guidance will be given and external costs apply for the secure
English test, the visa application and Immigration Health
Surcharge.
BARNES can also devise other programmes for Non EU students
which are individually priced. A popular programme used by some
students starts in either January, February or March and finishes
before Christmas.
The price includes:
- unlimited guidance in selecting a suitable school.
- room and board (during the week - breakfast and evening meal,
on weekends and during half-term holidays - full board) with a host
family for the entire stay. The schools offer lunch in the canteen
at about GBP 4.00. No accommodation is provided during Christmas
and Easter holidays, when most students return home.Students will
always be provided with their own bedroom.
- a local representative briefing with the small number of other
local international students.
- professional advice at the start of school to ensure the
appropriate selection of course subjects will help further the
student's career goals.
- exam preparation for externally assessed A-levels when the
length of the chosen subject makes this possible. At some schools,
the International Baccalaureate is offered.
- "Guardianship" the BARNES family is ultimately responsible for
each student's welfare during their stay - providing a permanent
link between the student, the school, the host family, the local
representative and the student's parents. The student's happiness
is constantly under review and any problems that may arise are
resolved very quickly.
- arrangement of a visit to the school (if required) before your
stay
- travel advice and airport meeting arrangement service - if you
decide to travel alone to England we can make the arrangement for
you to be met at the airport and be transported to your host
family.
- insurance advice for your stay
The following costs are not included:
Round-trip flights, airport transfers to host family (an airport
meeting service and transfer to the host family can be arranged),
pocket money, any use of transport to school in England, insurance
(trip cancellation, health and property insurance are fully
recommended - advice can be given), external costs associated with
securing a visa for students studying for one (or two) academic
year(s).
Visa
From 1st January 2021 all students that do not have the right to
abode in the UK will need to follow the new UKVI rules for entering
the UK to study - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
Barnes is used to supporting students that need a visa to study in
the UK.
Visas are not always necessary where a student studies in the UK
for less than 6 months (EU/Swiss students do not need a visa for a
study period of up to 6 months). Where a visa is necessary the time
taken to apply for this needs to be taken into account when
considering start dates. Also, evidence of an IELTS
English test will need to be provided. IELTS tests need to be
booked in an official test centre to be valid (for guidance
see https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/ielts-ukvi/book-ielts-ukvi
).
Applications
Early registration is an advantage, usually between 4 and 12
months before the start of the study period. However, we have no
application deadlines. For applications received less than 4 study
weeks (excluding school holidays) before the study period
starts we charge an additional fee of GBP 200.