HOST

“Need a break from exams? Want to get away from University for a short time? Why not join HOST UK and explore Britain in a truly unique way?”

HOST is a voluntary organisation, a network of UK residents who welcome adult international students to their homes for a weekend or a Christmas visit. The purpose is to give students an insight into the way of life in Britain and students also share their own culture with their hosts.

By helping students far from home to feel welcome in the UK, HOST contributes to international friendship and goodwill. A HOST visit will be an interesting and valuable addition to your experience of Britain. It is a unique opportunity to get away from the campus and out into the community; to meet British residents and find out more about the everyday life of this country by sharing it for a short time.

What is HOST?

  • HOST is a voluntary organisation, with a small office in London.
  • In every region of the UK, we have a volunteer Regional Organiser (RO), working at home. An RO will arrange your invitation.
  • Every RO has a list of volunteer hosts in their region. A host will invite you for a visit.

Who can use HOST?

  • All International students; including all scholarship holders, graduate fellows, Chevening Scholars and Research Fellows.
  • You must be 18+.
  • You must be studying here full-time and your study period must be at least 3 months.
  • Foreign Language assistants in schools, and international volunteers aged 18+ who will be staying here for at least 3 months may also apply.
  • If your husband/wife and children are resident with you in the UK, they may accompany you on the visit.
  • If you prefer, you can go with an international student friend.

Who are the hosts?

  • Our hosts are volunteers – they are not paid to invite you.
  • They are friendly, hospitable people who enjoy meeting international students and helping you to feel at home here.
  • They are interested in you, your country, and your ideas. All sorts of people are hosts!
  • Some are families with children at home; others are middle-aged and older couples; some live alone.
  • Some are professional people; others work in business, trade, or manufacturing; some are artists and craftsmen. Hosts have all kinds of jobs. Many hosts are retired: they have time to spend with you, and lots of life experience to share with you.

Where will I go for my visit?

  • We have hosts all over the UK, including England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  • When you apply to HOST, you can request a visit 'near my place of study'. This will involve a journey of no more than 2 hours.
  • Otherwise, you tell us how much you are prepared to spend on your travel, and we will find you a host somewhere in the UK within your travel budget.
  • You will be surprised how many interesting and beautiful places there are in Britain, which you have never heard of before!

When can I go?

  • HOST arranges visits on every weekend of the year. A weekend visit normally starts on Friday and ends on Sunday, but it can be flexible.
  • Christmas visits are very popular, enabling students to join in our most important family festival. At Christmas, most students stay 3 nights with their hosts.
  • In a few regions it is also possible to have a one day visit (no overnight stay).
  • When you apply for a visit, we ask you to give us a choice of dates, and we hope you will keep all those dates free, or inform us of any changes, until you have news of your invitation.

What will it cost?

  • There is an application fee of £60.00. This contributes to HOST's administration costs.
  • You will pay for your travel to the host's nearest train or bus station.
  • The HOST visit itself is FREE. You do not pay your hosts anything.
  • You will probably want to take a small gift to say thank you to your host. And you may need a little money to pay your entrance fee to a place your host may take you to see.

What our students say about Host:

Fei from China went on a HOST visit in July 2011
"Words fail me when it comes to how much I enjoyed this nice weekend with my host and another lovely HOST friend. It was the first time ever in my life to experience such unforgettably nice and warm traditional British family life. Within two short days, we cooked English food together, fed the chicken and ducks, did some reading, went to the local TESCO supermarket (which was bigger than the one in Newcastle:) and paid a visit to St. Mary Cathedral, Thirsk Museum, Mount Grace Priory, Sutton Bank National Park and so on. I was obsessed with the spectacular view of the countryside and greatly touched by how much the local people like Thirsk love about nature, people, culture and life. This has been undoubtedly the most memorable experience I have ever had in UK and it is going to stay in my memory for life after I graduate and go back to China."’

"The best highlight ever in your stay in the UK! Definitely worth going for surprises ahead."

Ivana from Croatia visited North Yorkshire in May 2011
"Special moments, highlights, memorable parts: The house where we stayed was breathtaking same as the village we were in. Our hosts were very well educated, informed, open minded and globe trotters from whom we learned so much. We had a day trip to the coast and in total had a perfect two days."

"Experience of living in the city as a student can't be compared to two days stay in typical small British village with friendly people and slow pace of living. There is more to Britain then big cities sightseeing and complaining about poor food."

"Of course we were skeptical of the visit being a little afraid of staying at unknown people's house and spending time with them. But we had fun beyond our wildest expectations."

Renny from Indonesia visited Scotland with HOST
"Almost everyday was a special moment with the family. They are kind people with warm hearts. They invited me my HOST mate from China, to go around town with them and introduced me to local people. People there are full of smiles and open to foreigners. They held interesting conversations and made us part of them. Our host always prepares food in traditional Scottish way. I enjoyed my stay in the family because I could learn many things ."

"Recommendations to other students: I highly recommend HOST to every student who is studying in UK. I guarantee that you will never regret of your participation in this program since you will get new families, new friends, and new experiences during your stay in UK."

Marie Leodora, December 2012”
“I've learned a lot from the family. Ann taught me how to cook traditional Christmas dinner and how to bake Mince Pie. She also showed me some of her beautiful artworks. She's a great lady and a lovely mother as well. Bobby is a kindhearted and very funny person; he made me laugh most of the time. I also saw some of his amazing wooden-craft works. Well, they should open their own art gallery, I think. Ailsa is super fun and a very, very talented girl; Ann & Bobby must be very proud of her. She and Bobby also taught me some tricks of photography. To conclude, I personally think this is far more than just experiencing British 'culture', I don't know how to put it into words, but it's more about sharing life and values which transcends cultures. I learned about people and I learned about myself. Recommendations to other students: Experience it yourself and I'm sure you'll be glad you did!

Atikah from Malaysia visited the North East to celebrate New Year’s 2010
"I enjoyed living with the host family as i was treated as a family, never as a visitor of HOST. I really appreciate it when they tried the very best to make me feel comfortable among them."

"It has been a joy to spend the weekend and learn to appreciate different lifestyle. I have made the right decision to join this program, and I hope to go for it again soon enough."

To find out more and apply for your visit, go to the HOST UK website.