AEGIS Spring Conference 2015

Earlier this month we attended the AEGIS (Association for the Education & Guardianship of International Students) Cultural Awareness and Communication conference at Felsted School.  There were many other guardians in attendance too.

Myself and Leanne Poole attended on behalf of Bright World and were treated to a full schedule of interactive presentations and discussions, where we heard from highly informed sources within the UK International Boarding sector.

The first talk we had was an interactive discussion and quiz on bullying by Ann Muston, Head of International Support at The Leys School, Cambridge.  The aim of the workshop was to discuss what is bullying, how it relates to students and safeguarding.  We got into pairs and small groups and discussed nationalities, bullying and different types of bullying. Bullying happens in lots of places and between girls as well as boys.  It can be related to school work, fashion, ethnicity to name a few.  Sometimes banter can be perceived as bullying when it is not, teaching international students how banter works is a useful tool to avoid conflict.

We then had a talk Our Duty of Care, a Pastoral Partnership from Mrs Frances Walker B.Ed., Housemistress and Teacher of English at Sherborne International.  The discussion was about being a house parent and how Sherborne developed their boarding houses into international ones.  The importance of guardians and Pastoral Care.

In the afternoon we had another interactive discussion on Mind the Gap – Exploring Cultural Differences.  This was taken with Richard Levinge and Linde Melhuish of Ease Training.  We discussed different cultures and how some customs can be mistaken for rudeness or easily misunderstood.

This was not only a great opportunity for us to meet with the AEGIS representatives and communicate with other guardianship organisations but to learn more about how to continually develop our important jobs as guardians.

Simon King, Guardianship Care Manager

Bright World Guardianships.                   

Bright World can place students at over 250 UK Boarding Schools. For further information, or if you are interested in finding out more about placement and uk guardianship, please get in touch via our enquiry form ,  call 01273 835745 or visit our website www.brightworld.co.uk 

Trip to Burgess Hill School for Girls to meet the Head!

Guardianship Care Manager, Jenny Rumble and Director of Sales & Marketing, Charlotte Hamson recently visited our close partners at Burgess Hill School for Girls to hear about the school's latest developments and to promote our new Relax & Revise half term course for international students.

Here we are with the Headmistress, Kathryn Bell (middle left) and the Deputy Head Liz Laybourn (far right).

During our meeting we discussed the safeguarding of international students and how this is equally important for us as guardians and for Burgess Hill as a trusted independent boarding school. 

During our visit we were showed the beautiful boarding houses which house many of our guardianship students. We were also able to view the school facilities. The art room was particularly stunning and contained some outstanding pieces of work. 

Bright World can place students into Burgess Hill School for Girls. For further information, or if you are interested in finding out more about placement and uk guardianship, please get in touch via our enquiry form ,  call 01273 835745 or visit our website www.brightworld.co.uk 

How culturally aware is your child?

Prepare your child to thrive in our cosmopolitan society and you don’t even need to leave your house!

How well are you doing at school? How did that exam go? What mark did you get on your report? These are some of the questions we regularly ask our children after they come in from a long day at school. These are the answers that are going to determine their future...right?

The answer is of course very much yes and whilst the academic success of our children is of upmost importance, without the ability to communicate and build multi-cultural relationships they cannot progress in the ever changing modern workplace.

BBC news recently reported that a staggering 284 thousand people immigrated to the UK for work last year and that employment of non-EU nationals during January, February and March this year was significantly higher than 2014. With these staggering figures in mind, we must continue to teach our children how to appreciate, communicate and cooperate with different cultures, so that they can become the global workers that organisations demand. When our children then become adults, going off to university or into the work place, they can apply the skills they have learnt. They will be able to interpret tricky situations, whilst being compassionate and having cultural sensitivity when it comes to clients and colleagues.

Marcel Proust, the French novelist, observed that "the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new lands but in seeing with new eyes". 

Hosting a foreign student could be the answer to developing cultural awareness in YOUR child.

By opening up your home to a foreign student, you are creating an opportunity, exposing them to a whole new culture and helping them to see the world through new eyes. Living with an international student is of the best ways to learn about other cultures and the skills that are connected with that. It can also provide a valuable extra income for you and your family.

“We hosted Sunny for a year during her short school holidays. My children very much enjoyed meeting a child from a foreign country and Sunny was a great addition to the family. Sunny would draw and sing with my daughter, Georgie. Georgie now studies Art at Vandean College in East Sussex.” Carol Gill, Host Family, Bright World Guardianships

Get YOUR child practising valuable skills such as listening carefully and observing new culture while increasing their confidence to talk to new people. You don’t even need to leave your house!

For further information, or if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Host Family, please get in touch with Tammy Lindsay, Host Family Recruitment Manager, lindsay@brightworld.co.uk or complete the enquiry form. 

Super Stars, Hong Kong Overseas Study Centre pay us a visit!

(pictured above left to right - Timmy Wong, Jimmy Wong, Mike Dilworth, Cory Holden, Fiona Walters, Su Warren)

Jimmy Wong of Hong Kong Overseas Study Centre kindly visited our offices recently along with his brother Jimmy who works for our Rising Star Partners at Yellow 88.

Jimmy’s collaboration with Bright World has spanned for over a decade, during which we have assisted him, his colleagues and their clients with UK boarding school placements and child guardianship. Timmy has recently started using our services so we were so pleased and honoured that they took the time to visit Bright World’s head office earlier this month.

During their visit Jimmy (picture above right with Sheena Trist) was kind enough to talk to Bright World staff about the importance of good partnership, fast communications and trusting relationships. This was a fantastic opportunity for some of Bright World’s newest members to hear things from an agent’s perspective and to understand the needs of international students who are coming to the UK to study. Jimmy was also presented with his Super Star certificate to show Bright World's appreciation for his continued support.

Our Director of Sales & Marketing, Charlotte Hamson will be travelling to Hong Kong in the summer to support Jimmy and his team at the 29^th HKOSC Education Fair. This fantastic event provides Hong Kong-Chinese parents and of course their children with the opportunity to meet with experts in study and travel abroad programmes. The Mongkok event will take place on the 8^th Floor, Langham Place Hotel on 15^th& 16^th July .

Thank you again to Jimmy and Timmy for dropping in to see the Bright World team.

Bright World can place students at over 300 UK Boarding Schools. For further information, or if you are interested in finding out more about placement and uk guardianship, please get in touch via our enquiry form ,  call 01273 835745 or visit our website www.brightworld.co.uk 

A student’s life at Alexander’s College

Recently we had the great pleasure in visiting Alexanders College at Bawdsey, Suffolk. We had a tour of the school with Yalcin, who is the School Captain of Alexander’s College.
 We discussed the changes within our guardianship department talked about their updates so that we are fully informed when advising parents and placing students on behalf of our overseas Partners. Sally was especially keen to learn more about our accreditation with TravelSafe and enquire about the stringent regulations we set out for all our Host Families.

Yalcin is studying for his A-levels in maths, physics, chemistry and biology. He was born in Turkey but now lives in Bawdsey on the school’s campus. 

He is the Captain of the Alexander’s basketball team and likes doing sports such as basketball, football, rugby, fitness.

Yalcin has lots of goals for his future. One of his biggest goals is to become a surgeon.

 In order to study medicine in England he will be required to have lots of work experience and AAA in his subjects. Last year Yalcin completed his GCSEs at Alexanders College and he achieved the grades to study the required subjects in A levels for medicine at universities in the UK.

This is his second year at Alexanders. The last two years have helped him understand things such as importance of studying and friendship. Yalcin’s parents couldn't say no when he was asked them to do his A levels with Alexanders.

Alexander’s is a second home to many students. Yalcin has lots of friends who have come to Alexanders to improve their English but have stayed for their GCSE and A levels.

“We do a lot of sports and this makes our friendship stronger, unbreakable. Living, improving and getting along with friends makes Alexander’s special for everybody. We are a family, including staff and students”.

Over the past two years he has changed noticeably in areas such as maturity and responsibility. He is happy that I chose to study at Alexander’s; these years will decide his future and I believe that he is in the right place.

Should you wish to enquire about Alexanders College, Our UK Placement service  or UK Guardianship  please visit our website or complete our online enquiry form

An unforgettable experience for Taiwanese exchange pupils

Bright World recently visited with Bethany School in & was very impressed with all the latest developments that the school had to offer. We met with both Headmaster Francis Healy & registrar Sally Martorell.

We discussed the changes within our guardianship department and to hear their updates so that we are fully informed when advising parents and placing students on behalf of our overseas Partners. Sally was especially keen to learn more about our accreditation with TravelSafe and enquire about the stringent regulations we set out for all our Host Families. 

Seven of our Bethany pupils hosted Taiwanese pupils from Bailing Senior High school and Lishan High School. The visiting pupils took part in a wide array of activities and trips, including visits to London, Leeds Castle, the coast and Canterbury, taking in the sights, smells and food that were on offer!


The aim was to provide them with a very British experience during their ten days here. The feedback from the pupils has been very positive and they have all learnt a lot from this experience.
 The seven Bethany pupils will be able to experience the Taiwanese way of life when roles are reversed in October and our visitors become the hosts. October seems far away, but already the pupils are very excited about the trip

Should you wish to enquire about Bethany School, Our UK Placement service  or UK Guardianship  please visit our website or complete our online enquiry form

Chinese New Year Celebrations with Bright World Local Coordinator Judith Morton-Nash

Our host family Dorothy (Dot) Ayres loves to plan a special treat whenever she hosts students for Bright World. The Chinese New Year coincided with February half term holiday so Dot decided to host a Chinese banquet.

Dot was hosting Jeremy Mak from Oswestry School, Irene Lu from Abbots Bromley School and Russian students Aitan Guseinova and Katya Martynova from Moreton Hall School and Ellesmere College respectively.

Dot lives in Shrewsbury. She is friends with Jane Kingston another Bright World host. Dot invited Judith Morton-Nash, our Shropshire coordinator, together with Jane and her students to come to the party at Dot's house. Everybody had lots of fun and masses of delicious food.


Dot said' I really like the students to feel cared for. I know that Chinese New Year is very important and it is a time when they miss their families.  Also it was Linh's birthday during half term, Linh was staying with Jane and it was nice for her to see some of her friends.'

Host Family Services;

Bright World Guardianships oversees the pastoral care of international students during who are studying at UK boarding schools whilst their parents are still living in their home country.

Our Host Family Network;

We rely on our network of excellent host families to help us to care for our students during the times of year when they have to leave school. This is usually some weekends and half term holidays.

We are always looking to expand our host family network as our student numbers increase and are currently looking for host families in the following areas:

Host Family Locations in the UK;

Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Kent, Surrey, Eastbourne, Sussex, London, Worthing, Suffolk, Norfolk, Chichester, Essex, Hampshire, Devon, Dorset, Reading, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Bath and Bristol, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, West Sussex, Cheltenham, Worcestershire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Scotland.

For more information regarding our Host Family Locations throughout the UK please contact our team direct on +44 (0)1273 835 745 or fill in our online enquiry form and we'll get back to you.

or click here to see our frequently asked questions