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Local Coordinator Close to your School
Your local coordinator visits your child, attends parents' evenings on your behalf and stays in touch throughout your guardianship programme.
British Guardianship at Cothill
Nominated Guardian for Cothill. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Cothill? UK boarding schools generally require international students under 18 to have an accredited UK guardian in place throughout their studies. British Guardianship provides a fully accredited boarding school guardianship service for Cothill students, including a dedicated local coordinator, safe accommodation with vetted host families during half terms, exeats and holidays, attendance at parents' evenings on your behalf, and 24-hour emergency support.
Guardianship Fees
Our UK boarding school guardianship services for Cothill start from £350 per term.
Dedicated Guardianship Manager
As soon as your application is received, a dedicated member of our guardianship team becomes your main contact, managing every aspect of your nominated guardian arrangements.
Local Vetted Host Family
We work with a network of vetted host families across the UK. For exeats and half terms, we aim to place your child with a local host family matched to your preferences, so weekends away from school feel settled and safe.
Our Services
UK Boarding School Guardianship
An accredited nominated guardian for international boarders at Cothill, with a dedicated local coordinator, vetted host families for half terms, exeats and holidays, and 24-hour emergency support.
Learn More →Boarding School Placement
Our admissions team supports international families through the application to Cothill, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →Cothill Overview
Cothill is an independent, co-educational day and boarding prep school for around 160 pupils aged 7 to 13 on a rural site in the Vale of the White Horse, between Abingdon and Oxford in Oxfordshire. Founded in 1860 and based at Cothill since 1870, it was for most of its history Cothill House, a boys' boarding school; day pupils were admitted from 2023 and girls two years later. Cothill is operated by the Prep Schools Trust and is part of Radley Schools Group, which brings together Radley College and seven prep schools.
Classes are small, with a pupil to teacher ratio of around 4:1, and pupils are prepared for senior school entry at 13. Most leavers go on to senior boarding schools such as Eton, Radley, Harrow, Winchester, Oundle and Stowe.
Boarding at Cothill
Most pupils board, with more than 100 boarders on roll, and boarding runs from age 8, in Year 4, to Year 8. Families can choose full boarding, weekly boarding with boarders going home after Saturday matches, or flexi boarding of up to three nights a week. Around 90 to 100 children usually stay in at weekends.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Boarders sleep in shared dormitories of up to around 12 pupils, grouped by year. Bowlers is the junior boarding house, while older boys live in the main school. Girls have their own house, Gardenside, within the main building, with separate dormitories for Years 4 and 5, Years 6 and 7, and Year 8. Each year group has a houseparent and assistant houseparent, supported by matrons.
Boarding Life
After lessons and prep, boarders have tea, join the Cothill Activity Programme and finish the evening with supper, games room time and silent reading before lights out. Saturdays bring morning lessons and afternoon matches, and Sundays are for rest and outings to places such as water parks, trampoline centres and wildlife parks.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Learning support covers specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, autism spectrum conditions and moderate learning difficulties, through small group and one-to-one lessons in reading, spelling, handwriting and touch typing. New boarders are given a boarding buddy, pupils see their tutor daily, and houseparents and matrons help children through homesickness.
International boarders at Cothill are generally expected to have a UK guardian. British Guardianship provides AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship for international students at UK boarding schools.
Facilities & Activities at Cothill
Every accredited UK boarding school offers a range of sport, arts and academic facilities for international students, together with an extended programme of activities in the evenings and at weekends. For full details of the facilities and activities available, please visit the official Cothill website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Cothill takes boarders from Year 4, at age 8, through to Year 8, after which pupils move on to senior school at 13. Places usually become available in Years 4, 5 and 6, and occasionally arise in other year groups or during the year. Most international students join in September, and the school describes its entry as gently selective. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement. Cothill does not publish English entry levels or details of English as an additional language teaching, so families whose children are still building their English should discuss support with British Guardianship early.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. Cothill is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register through the Prep Schools Trust, the charity that operates the school within Radley Schools Group. Children aged 4 to 15 can only use this visa at an independent fee-paying school, so a prep school such as Cothill is eligible. The school issues the sponsorship confirmation once a place is accepted, while the visa application itself is submitted by parents. Our Child Student visa guide explains the requirements and process, and families holding a British National (Overseas) visa can contact us for guidance on the BN(O) route.
UK Guardian Requirement
UK boarding schools generally require international boarders under 18 to have a UK guardian, and British Guardianship confirms each school's specific requirements as part of placement. For a boarder as young as 8, the guardian is the trusted adult in the UK who handles travel at the start and end of each term and steps in whenever parents cannot be there.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Cothill boarders. Our boarding school guardianship service covers regular contact with the school, travel coordination and safe accommodation with vetted host families during half terms, exeats and holidays, giving parents a single, reliable educational guardian in the UK.
To discuss UK guardianship for Cothill, book a free online consultation or apply for a nominated guardian.
Frequently Asked Questions
UK boarding schools generally require international students under 18 to have a UK-based guardian, and British Guardianship confirms Cothill's specific requirements as part of your application. The guardian acts on behalf of parents in the UK, is the school's point of contact in an emergency and looks after the student whenever they cannot be at school. We provide this as an AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship service.
Whenever your child cannot stay at Cothill, for example during half terms, exeats or holidays when boarding houses close, they stay with one of our vetted host families. Every host family is visited in their home, provides professional and personal references and holds an Enhanced DBS check for all household members aged 16 and over. British Guardianship remains your child's educational guardian throughout every stay.
We have guardians available and ready to be assigned. The overall timeframe depends on how quickly the required paperwork is completed and communication with Cothill is finalised. As every case is different, timelines can vary, but we aim to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible.
Boarding school guardianship is charged per term and starts from £350, with host family stays, travel arrangements and other services added as your child needs them. Full details are on our guardianship fees page.
A UK student guardian must be a responsible adult, usually aged 25 or over, who lives permanently in the UK, speaks fluent English and is close enough to the school to respond quickly in an emergency; many boarding schools set a maximum travel time. The guardian must be contactable 24 hours a day and hold an Enhanced DBS check where they or their household host the student. Cothill may also ask for the guardian's details before the start of term and set additional requirements of its own. As an AEGIS accredited guardianship provider, British Guardianship meets these requirements on your behalf, with vetted guardians, Enhanced DBS checked host families and 24-hour emergency support.
Yes. Our boarding school admissions service supports international families through the application to Cothill, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Disclaimer: Logo, images and videos are shown courtesy of Cothill and remain the property of their respective owners. British Guardianship is an independent AEGIS-accredited guardianship provider, and this page is not published or endorsed by Cothill. School information is provided as a general guide and may change.
SEN Support Explained: SpLD: specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, affect particular areas of learning such as reading, spelling, coordination or working with numbers, without affecting overall ability. ASD: autism spectrum disorder affects how a student communicates, interacts with others and experiences the world around them. MLD: moderate learning difficulties mean a student finds most areas of learning harder than their peers and benefits from adapted teaching and additional support.
