Accommodation

Your Oxford Hosts

Most CIE students stay in homestay accommodation. This provides you with the unique opportunity to share the daily life of a British family. During the week you will have breakfast and dinner with your hosts. At the weekend all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will be provided for you. As CIE Oxford is situated in the centre of Oxford, an excellent bus service is available to and from the homes of all our hosts. A homestay host will not accommodate more than four guests.

CIE’s accommodation officer inspects the homes of all our host families regularly to ensure that they meet our high standards, as well as those of the British Council.

Our Hosts

Our hosts are British families who speak English in their home and will help you practise your English outside of your lessons at school. The United Kingdom is a multicultural nation with a diverse population and our hosts represent a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They mirror the United Kingdom as a whole and the various kinds of families that are found here. (E.g. two parents in the family, single-parent family, children living in the home, no children, young family, older and more mature family).

If you would like to ask a question to our accommodation team, they can be contacted directly on [email protected].

Living with a Host

What you can expect from homestay accommodation organised by CIE:

• Inclusion in family as full member of the household
• An appropriate, well-lit and heated, clean room in good repair located in a clean, reasonably-sized house or flat
• A bed and storage in the bedroom
• Breakfast and dinner every day
• Use of family rooms for recreation
• Use of bathroom and available shower daily
• Meals eaten together with your family, for English-speaking practice
• Bed linen and towels changed weekly and washing facilities for clothes made available
• No more than 4 international students residing in the house at any time
• The host family selected will be appropriate for your age, background, and religion
• Host families will cater for any of your dietary requirements, wherever possible, and a balanced diet will be provided
• The accommodation is checked every 2 years to ensure suitability
• For students under 18, host families will have been police-checked and a responsible adult will always be present at night

CIE Oxford will help you every step of the way

We will make every effort to accommodate your wishes regarding family arrangements, i.e. number and age of children in house, pets, and smoking. It is important to note that due to the diverse nature of British society our homestay hosts may be families with none or many children, only one parent or retired couples whose children have left home.

If you choose not to use our host accommodation, it may be difficult for you to obtain English-speaking practice in a real-life environment. You must also inform us of any change of address during your stay with CIE Oxford, while in the UK.

If you have any problems during your stay, please do not hesitate to contact our Accommodation team. They will try to resolve the problem or will help you find alternative accommodation. Before you arrive in the UK we will send you your hosts’ profile. On your first day we will help you with information about how to get from the centre of town to your accommodation, including any relevant bus timetables.