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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 Cottesmore School
Nominated Guardian for Cottesmore School. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Cottesmore School? 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 Cottesmore School 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 Cottesmore School 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 Cottesmore School, 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 Cottesmore School, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →Cottesmore School Overview
Cottesmore School is an independent, co-educational boarding prep school for boys and girls aged 7 to 13 at Pease Pottage, West Sussex, close to the Surrey border and less than an hour from London, with a Pre-Prep for children from age 4. Founded in Hove in 1894, it is based at Buchan Hill, a Victorian country house with a tall tower, and has been led by the same family for three generations.
Boarding starts in Year 3, when new boarders join a combined Year 3 and Year 4 class, and continues to Year 8. The broad curriculum includes classics, philosophy, coding and AI alongside core subjects, with a scholarship stream for able pupils, and most pupils sit Common Entrance at 13 before moving to senior schools.
Boarding at Cottesmore School
More than 100 pupils are full boarders, and weekends in school are central to boarding life. Full boarding runs from Year 3 to Year 8, with day boarding of up to three nights a week from Year 4, and around 30% of pupils have parents living and working abroad, both expatriate families and foreign nationals.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Boarders sleep in personalised dormitories in the main house, each shared by four to eight pupils. Pupils also belong to houses known as Sets, each run by two members of staff, alongside form tutors, pastoral tutors, matrons, Senior Houseparents and a nurse. Around 90% of teaching and pastoral staff live on the estate.
Boarding Life
Saturday morning lessons are followed by games and matches and a choice of more than 20 hobbies, while Sundays combine free time with supervised activities. The school offers 28 sports, and more than 90% of pupils learn an instrument. Exeats run from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, with nine across the year as well as half terms.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Classes average 14 pupils, with a staff to pupil ratio of 9:1, and progress is assessed every four weeks. Specialist teachers give multi-sensory one-to-one or small-group help with reading, spelling, writing, memory, study skills, mathematics and EAL, and a speech and language therapist supports pupils with specific language difficulties. Pupils can also speak to a school counsellor or an independent listener.
Every international boarder at Cottesmore School must have a UK guardian. British Guardianship provides AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship for international students at UK boarding schools.
Facilities & Activities at Cottesmore School
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 Cottesmore School website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Cottesmore School accepts international boarders from Year 3 to Year 8, so pupils can join from age 7 and remain until they move on to senior school at 13. Most international students join in September; entry in other year groups is considered individually. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
Cottesmore School does not publish minimum CEFR or IELTS levels. English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement.
EAL is one of the areas covered by the Learning Support department, where specialist teachers work with pupils individually or occasionally in small groups, using a multi-sensory approach. The department is open access, so international boarders can ask for help with language and communication, reading, writing or study skills whenever they need it, and a speech and language therapist is also part of the team.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. Cottesmore School is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register, while the visa application itself is submitted by parents. Our Child Student visa guide explains the process, and families holding a British National (Overseas) visa can contact us for guidance on the BN(O) route.
UK Guardian Requirement
Cottesmore School requires overseas parents to appoint a UK guardian, preferably based in London or the Home Counties, so that the guardian is within reach of the school for exeat weekends and half terms. With nine exeat weekends a year in addition to half terms, families need reliable guardian cover throughout the school year. The school can arrange transfers to Gatwick and Heathrow airports at the start and end of each term.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Cottesmore School boarders. Our boarding school guardianship service covers contact with the school, travel coordination and accommodation with vetted host families during half terms, exeats and holidays.
To discuss UK guardianship for Cottesmore School, 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 Cottesmore School'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 Cottesmore School, 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 Cottesmore School 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. Cottesmore School 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 Cottesmore School, 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 Cottesmore School 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 Cottesmore School. 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. SLCN: speech, language and communication needs affect how a student understands language, expresses themselves or communicates with others.
