Student Hosts at Etherton Education, by Peter Etherton
May 2019, Agent E-Newsletter Article
Are your students feeling worried about going away from home this summer? Don’t worry, our friendly student hosts are here to welcome them! They are a special feature on all of our courses! They are employed to work with our international students during sports, homework and social times! Making sure they are settling in to their courses and to make them feel at home! Read the full article here.
Who are the student hosts?
The student hosts are young British people, generally aged about 18-22. Most of them are at university now, and they work for Etherton Education during the summer.
So, they are volunteers?
No, they are paid members of staff. Some summer courses use unpaid volunteers, but we believe you should pay people for their work. They are all police-checked, have a proper training day plus online training courses in First Aid and Safeguarding. They have to study a Manual which explains their work, and they are tested on their knowledge. We prepare them properly for their important role.
How many student hosts do you have?
We employ about one student host for every seven students. So, there are typically about 10 to 15 student hosts on duty every afternoon and evening at our main schools. This means there are plenty of friendly, native-speakers of English for our students to chat with. Students have the chance to practise their English conversation skills with the student hosts for 50 hours a week!
What do they do?
Their main tasks are to be friends with our students, to help practise English conversation. In particular:
- They run the sports activities and play games with our students.
- They chat to students during dinner.
- They help with homework and act as mentors.
- They organise our amazing social activities in the evenings.
- They go on trips and explain British culture, both ancient and modern.
- They organise Sunday club activities.
- They stay in the boarding houses until 10 pm to work and play with students.
What do the students say about the student hosts?
Here are some quotes from previous Etherton Education students about our Student Hosts:
- Costanza (Italy), “I will remember the amazing and funny student hosts.”
- William (China), “The student hosts carried me through the transition period.”
- Barbara (Russia), “Awesome people who became my family for these four weeks.”
- Barry (China), “I will remember student host Max most because he is very friendly and easy-going.”
- Asia (Thailand), “My best memories are spending time with my friends and the student hosts.”
- Ana (Spain), “They made us feel like we were at home.”
- Arya (Iran), “My best memory was the student hosts dance during the drama show!”
- Sho (Japan), “Talking with student hosts was great!”
- Abed (Jordan), “My best memories are mixing and joking around with the student hosts.”
- Mikhail (Belgium), “I enjoyed my prep time with my favourite student host, Emma.”
- Vlad (Ukraine), “All the student hosts here are really nice and friendly.”
- Ruby (China), “I feel a real friendship between the student hosts and students – they were very kind to me.”
- Pan (Hong Kong), “I love all the student hosts and teachers!”
- David (Canada), “Student hosts make sure we have fun.”
- Arsenii (Russia), “Playing sports with the student hosts has also been very fun.”
- Anna (Ukraine), “The student hosts make our days here brighter.”
If you have any questions about our Student Hosts or our courses please do not hesitate to contact us.
