Become a Host Family in Woodford or South Woodford

We are looking for new host families in Woodford Green (IG8) and South Woodford (E18) to host our students. We work in partnership with London’s top language schools to provide their students with homestays across London. The students are usually aged 18 to 25, but we do also place 10 – 17 year old (junior) students too.

We recruit across London zones 1 to 4.  However, we are especially interested in registering new host families in the above areas.

Hosting Overseas Students 

For anyone with a spare room, becoming a host family for students is a safe and fun way to make a little bit of extra income.

As a host, your main role is to provide a “home from home” to your international guest. Students choose homestay as an alternative to a Halls of Residence or Student House share. They will be looking for a more personal accommodation experience therefore.

Hosts who embrace the “home from home” concept have the chance to make life-long friendships. Many of our students stay in touch with their hosts long after they leave London.

Why Woodford & South Woodford

Within zone 4, Woodford and South Woodford are popular with international students for many reasons:

• Access to Woodford and South Woodford underground/central line stations (zone 4). This means short journey times into central London, in particular to Holborn (Bloomsbury). This is where many of London’s language schools are based. Woodford/South Woodford to Holborn is approximately 30-35 minutes. It is a direct journey with no changes required and trains are regular (usually every 2-4 minutes).
• These areas have many larger family homes. This offers international students the potential of a real “home from home” London homestay experience.
• Safety – these areas are regarded as safe by students. They have a more suburban feel than other zone 4 areas, and so many of our overseas students report feeling comfortable in living here.

Group Homestays 

We often place groups of foreign students in Woodford Green and South Woodford. Hence we always have a need for new hosts here. The groups are usually here to take a language course in central London, often in and around Holborn. Sometimes they are here to do internships at different host companies across London.

Student groups are usually accompanied by several group leaders who request that their students are clustered in the same area. Other neighbouring areas that are in demand for group homestays are Wanstead, Snaresbrook, Redbridge, Gants Hill.

These areas all offer access to the Central line, which is especially convenient for access to central London.

How to Become a Host Family

If you live in Woodford Green or South Woodford, and you think you’d like to become a host family, then the first step is to fill out our host application form. We’ll require details from you such as your name, address, email, details of the accommodation etc.

We have specific catchment areas when taking on hew homestay hosts. One of the most important factors in deciding if you are in or out of our catchment is your proximity to the nearest station(s).

Once we receive your application, one of our team will check that you fall into our catchment. They will then call you to run through things in person. If, on discussion, we feel that homestay is the right option for you, then we will organise for one of our Home Assessors to come out and meet you in person. We are registered with the British Council, so we have specific criteria that we must work to when assessing the suitability of a new host’s home.

If your home meets our requirements, then we will send you a welcome pack with all the information you need to get started as a host. We will then aim to start sending you students as soon as you are ready to receive them!

Questions – We can help!

If you have any questions about hosting students, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Our offices are open Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 5.30pm and our friendly team will be happy to hear from you!