Clifton College Website

International Pupils - Further Information

1. Guardianship

The following Terms and Conditions apply:

• Following the Children Act (1989), the Protection of Children Act (1999) and the Care Standards Act (2000), Clifton College, in promoting and safeguarding the welfare of every pupil, requires parents who do not live in the United Kingdom to appoint a guardian to act on their behalf. This applies to all pupils in the school irrespective of age.

  The above legislation protects the rights of children and makes ‘proper and appropriate care’ a compulsory requirement.

  During term-time, the school is legally responsible for each pupils’ welfare, and undertakes delegated parental responsibilities. However, there are times (e.g. exeat weekends, beginning and end of term, half-term breaks, or if a child is suspended or expelled by the school, etc.) when the school must be able to hand over these parental responsibilities to another adult – a properly appointed guardian.

• Guardians may be a family member or relative, or family friend who is over 25 years of age and who is not a full-time student, but is resident in the UK. If such a contact in the UK is unavailable, guardians can be provided by a reputable guardian organisation.

• Clifton College is a member of AEGIS – a national body for monitoring and regulating the welfare of international pupils. AEGIS provides accreditation of guardianship organisations in accordance with the requirements of the Government’s Social Services Department. We will only refer parents to guardianship organisations who have been accredited by AEGIS, or with whom we have a long working relationship and can recommend. Clifton College cannot in any way be held responsible for the choice of guardian that parents make, and we strongly recommend that parents check carefully the accreditation of any guardianship organisation they propose to use.

• An appointed guardian will:

  1. Be a 24-hour point of contact for parents, pupil, school and host family.
  2. Act with delegated parental authority in the case of an emergency or crisis.
  3. Provide both pastoral and educational support, including attendance at parents’ conferences.
  4. Liaise with the school and parents over holiday and exeat arrangements.
  5. Make appropriate arrangements for medical care.
  6. Inform the school in writing about all the details of travel arrangements made prior to a child leaving the school for an exeat weekend or a longer holiday period. The school must know the exact details of pupil’s accommodation and methods of transportation.

• Guardians should also respect the rights, religion and customs of a child, and adhere to what is commonly regarded as best practice in the guardianship and hosting of international pupils. This includes having in place a proper agreement with the pupil’s parents as to what the guardian’s responsibilities are.

• If a pupil does not have a guardian when required to do so by the school, or the appointed guardian is considered by the school to be unsatisfactory, the school will invite parents to find a new guardian. Should parents fail to do so, either they will be required to use a guardian organisation recommended by the school, or the child may not be accepted into the school. Parents should never terminate an agreement with one guardian before having an alternative agreement in place with a new guardian.

2. Travel

It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to arrange travel at the beginning and end of terms, as well as at half term. Housemasters and Housemistresses can arrange train or coach travel as well as taxis to or from the coach or train station but it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to request these arrangements to be made, well in advance.

The easiest way to get from London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports is by the National Express Air Link bus. As you come out into the airports through customs follow signs for Coach Station. The bus that stops at Bristol is the Swansea bus (Service 200 or 201) which starts at Gatwick then goes to Heathrow. The journey from Heathrow to Bristol takes about 2 hours and snacks and drinks are available on the bus.

Daily departure times and fares are listed on the National Express website.

From Bristol Coach Station a taxi to Clifton takes only 5 minutes and will cost about £6.00.

3. Tuition in English

Overseas pupils for whom English is not their first language are entitled to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tuition within the curriculum. The precise nature of this tuition varies according to age of entry to the school, and the number of other languages to be studied.

For pupils entering the 3rd Form (age 13+) or the 4th Form (age 14+) normal English lessons are setted according to language ability. Foreign pupils will also be able to study EFL in a small class instead of a second language (French, German, Spanish or Mandarin) and there is no extra cost for this. Any EFL tuition provided outside the timetable will be provided by individual Tutors and there will be an extra charge (£20.00-£30.00 per lesson depending on the number of pupils).

Pupils entering the 6th Form (age 16+) to study AS-levels and A-levels will have the opportunity to choose an appropriate EFL course, such as the English International GCSE, as one of their subsidiary subjects at no extra cost. If they do not join this class, but still require EFL tuition, then this will be charged extra as above.

We recommend that overseas pupils whose English is not fluent attend an intensive course in English, preferably in the U.K., before joining the school. We are happy to recommend such courses if required.

4. Arrival at Clifton

The term dates are published in advance and parents/guardians must book tickets in good time (up to 12 months in the case of Hong Kong) to ensure that the students arrive and leave on the right day. If term is published as beginning on a Wednesday, this means that they should arrive on that afternoon and no later than 20:30hrs. It is particularly important for their education that pupils do not arrive late at the start of term, nor leave early at the end of term.

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