INTERNSHIP IN LONDON

Living with a host family means you live with a family - in your own room or sharing with another student, (but only if you apply with another friend at the same time). Staying with a host family may be a better option than student apartments if you want to practice the language and engage more with British culture and have more support during your internship stay.

You will live, eat, and share much of the time with the hosts and their family. Family events such as dining out, amusement parks, camping, travel, etc. often will involve the host student who may or may not be expected to pay a portion for the participation (tickets, parking, fuel, travel expenses, etc). The student is often invited to participate in Holiday festivities and family events (weddings, birthdays, etc.). Each host family may be different from another (for example, perhaps one student will live with a young lively family or maybe you will live with a very quiet family). Whilst you will not live in the same situation as your normal home, you have to try to make every effort to adapt yourself to such new situations.

Internship In London host families are carefully selected and visited prior to having a student, most of the host families we use have taken in students with us for the last 10 years. Our local host family co-ordinator lives in same area of London and he is available in case of any problems. You can be sure of your safety and security living with a host family. We will use the information on the booking form that you send us to match you with the best available family.

The student must abide by the host family's house rules such as; chores to perform, curfews, use of internet, telephone, guest visits, smoking and drinking & this will all be explained to you on arrival. You will have your own set of keys of the house. Please, please, try not to lose them as you may need to pay not only for new keys but a new lock as well! We have set out below a list of some general rules for you; but please always check with your host family upon arrival what their exact rules are. Remember, good communication is the best way to avoid problems!

Internship In London host families are mainly based in West London zone 3 or 4 - this is a very safe, developed, secure, residential area which is very well connected to central London. By tube (metro) you will be in central London in around 45mins to 1hour, which for London's everyday travelers is a normal travel time. Remember London is a very big city and we all travel long distances that take one or more hours. If you are looking at the London tube map this area is in the middle of the map on the left hand side, Ealing Broadway, South Ealing, Acton Town, West Acton and so on. Please note that residential areas do not exist in central London, the few that do exist are very luxurious and expensive. West London is best connected to central London and is considered the best zone in London!

When staying with a host family you can opt for one of three options:

Room only (no food), room with breakfast or room with breakfast and dinner( Half Board).

Room only: you will not be given any food and if you opt for this option you will only be allowed to prepare yourself breakfast, as for dinner it does not make sense for your host family and you to cook two different dinners.

Room with breakfast: The family will provide you with breakfast, toast, cereal, coffee, tea etc. When staying with a family in the UK you will need to adapt yourself to food that it's usually eaten for various meals in UK. You are not allowed to cook dinner as the family is preparing one anyway, if you wish to eat at home for dinner select the next option.

Room with breakfast and dinner *HALF BOARD: This is best the option as food is very expensive in London and this is the most cost effective option for you to have nice evening meal. Please note that for lunch most people in the UK eat sandwich or something similar, in the UK dinner is biggest meal of the day. You will be served a warm dinner, for example meat with vegetables or something similar. If you are late for dinner the family can keep your dinner for you and you can eat it when you come back home.

If you have any specific dietary requirements or allergies you must inform us at the time of your application.

If the host family has Wi-Fi (wireless internet) they will most likely allow you to use the same one if you have your laptop with you. We cannot offer and guarantee specific families with internet access. If it is not available you can buy an internet modem stick here on arrival.

Once we have provided you with your host family details you must contact your host family directly to inform as to when you are arriving. Host families are not expected to pick you up from airport or station, you will have to make your own way to them, or ask us to organize a taxi. When you call your family you must give them your exact flight number (or train) and approximate time when you will be at their home so that they can wait for you. If you do not inform your family of your arrival time your host family may not be at home and you may need to wait hours for them to return. Host families are not expected to take you to the airport or station when you are leaving either, while some of them may do so as after staying with them for long time you will get close. It's strongly advised to bring a very small present for your host family on your arrival; something very small and typical of your country, this will help you to establish a friendly relationship with your host family.

Problems are very unusual, many of them can be resolved by simply communication, if you do not understand something don't hesitate to ask. If you have any problem you must contact us and we will be happy to help, you are however not allowed to act on your own for example if you leave family without contacting us first we will not offer you replacement or refund. The host family co-ordinator lives in West London and will visit you and your host family in the case of any problem. We also understand that you may want to change family or leave, that's ok we will only need three week notice and reasonable reasons, we will then offer you a new family or refund. Usually problem with host families are very small, however if a student is found to break the family's rules and is expelled from the host family we will review each individual case and may offer alternative accommodation or expel the student from the internship programme without any refunds.

This option is for the more independent student, but it may not suit all students. Apartments are usually shared, up to 5/6 students, each having their own room or sharing with another student. Not all students are on an internship programme. The bathroom and kitchen are always shared, TV and washing machine are only provided in some apartments. Bed linen and essential cooking utensils are provided. Flats are simply furnished. All apartments are non-smoking. You will have your own key and be completely independent, however you will be living with other students so you may need to be prepared to clean after them and to arrive at an apartment that is not clean as the students who are living there did not clean. Sometimes students get shocked at the state of the apartment, we do not have much control there as like many young people students look to have more fun and do as little cleaning as possible. Some buildings provide a housekeeper. As apartments in London are some of the most expensive in the world don't expect too much for your money. Remember -these are student accommodations. However the good news is that all apartment bills and taxes are included in the price so the only thing you need to remember is getting your own food, as no food is provided or included.

All apartments are non-smoking, no overnight guest are allowed, no pets are allowed, you are responsible for keeping the apartment tidy and clean, no naked flames or candle light. You will have to arrange any day to day tasks needed (washing up etc) with the other students in the apartment.

Apartments are located in central London zone 1 and 2 with no more than a 10 minute walk to a tube station. Zones are: Earl's Court, Gloucester Road, Notting Hill Gate, Fulham Broadway, Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, Baron's Court, Maida Vale and Shepherd's Bush.

You have two options regarding your room, a single room where you do not share the room with anyone else and a more economical option of a twin room where you share the room with another student of the same sex.

There is no internet provided in apartments. You can purchase a wireless modem stick here on arrival.

Internship In London will book a room for you so your place is secured but we will only provide you with the apartment address about one week prior to your arrival. This is because we have lots of movements and changes with students and we do not wish to give you one address and then have to change it several times before you arrive. It's fairer to give you one address knowing you will go there for sure. You should not worry- this is normal practice and has worked well for all students in the past. You will receive apartment details approximately one week prior to arrival.

You will have to go to our accommodation office to pick up the key for the apartment and sign contract, you will also need to pay a £100 deposit. All information about arrival procedure will be e-mailed to you with the accommodation address about one week prior to arrival.

You will need to go to our accommodation office by 11.00am with your key and to pick up your deposit.

The main problem with apartments are the people you share the apartment with, if you don't get along with them you will not enjoy your stay, in this eventuality we ask you to communicate well with other students in the apartment to avoid this. Another common problem is that students expect more for the price they are paying than London can offer, accommodation in London is one of most expensive in the world and for the money that you will pay in London you may get much better accommodation in your country, but not in London so we advise you to have realistic expectations. Any problem with the apartment needs to be reported to our accommodation office and they will deal with it immediately. If you wish to change room you can do so pending availability and if your reasons are reasonable, you will have to give us three weeks notice for this change to happen. Not all rooms can be the same and some students will have a bigger room and others smaller, this is not sufficient reason to request change. If you wish to leave your accommodation, that's o.k. however you need to give us three weeks notice and reason why. You are not allowed to leave your accommodation without previously informing us, if you do so you will not be entitled to any refund.