Students
Why a host family? Well one very good reason is that it will provide you immediate contact with people outside of your course, which will have a direct influence on the improvement of your English. You will be treated as one of the family and eat with the family when ever possible, so not only will you have an excellent source of local knowledge but long lasting friendships can possibly be formed.
All of our host families are visited and vetted before they are accepted to be Cambridge Host Family hosts, and then checked on a regular basis thereafter. All of our hosts are located within a 8 mile radius to the Cambridge City centre which means that all students can either walk or take advantage of the very convenient cycle paths and public transport facilities. All travel should never take longer than 25 minutes.
Although Cambridge is predominantly a student city is has a very diverse population, a population that consists of many different cultures and backgrounds. So not all host families will be of a traditional nature, some may be a couple without children that have left home or a single parent. This allows us to give a very wide selection and is suitable both for people who want a lot of contact with their host and also for those who prefer to be free and independent.
Students can expect from their hosts
- Your own bedroom (unless you wish to share) with bed linen
- Laundry facilities
- Shared use of bathroom
- Shared use of other areas of the house
- Desk table and light for studying
- Breakfast and evening meal during the week
- Cupboard for your clothes
- Internet/wireless
- Advice or help if you have a problem
- Other household facilities as agreed with host family (e.g. telephone usage)
What hosts expect from the student
- Consideration, remember you are not in a hotel but someone's house
- Smoking is only permitted in designated areas, please talk to your host.
- Not to make noise if you return at an unreasonable hour.
- House hold security, locking doors and windows upon entering or leaving.
- Cleanliness, clean up after you use shared areas such as bathroom and kitchen.
- Update your hosts if your plans change during the day (particularly for meal times).
Bicycles - the only way to get around the
Cambridge streets