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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 Dean Close School
Nominated Guardian for Dean Close School. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 →Dean Close School Overview
Dean Close School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, for pupils aged 2 to 18 on a single 50-acre campus. Established in 1886 with a Christian ethos, it is part of the Dean Close Foundation, which also runs Dean Close St John's near Chepstow. It has Pre-Preparatory (2 to 7), Preparatory (7 to 13) and Senior (13 to 18) divisions.
Senior pupils take GCSEs, then choose from 28 A Level subjects, with the Extended Project Qualification, BTEC and Leiths cookery options in the Sixth Form.
Boarding at Dean Close School
Boarding starts at age 7 in the Prep School, where around a third of children board, and roughly half of Senior School pupils live in. Pupils come from more than 20 countries, and many boarders are from military families, so a large community stays in at weekends.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Prep boarders aged 7 to 10 live in Wilton, a mixed junior house, then move at 11 to Fortfield, a girls' house in a Regency town house, or Caldecote for boys. Senior girls board in Fawley and Shelburne and boys in Brook Court and Tower, each with more than 50 pupils aged 13 to 18, while Turner Hall and Gate House are smaller houses for Sixth Form girls and boys. Each house is run by Houseparents with a tutor team, and room allocation is confirmed by the school on entry.
Boarding Life
Prep boarders start their evenings with a snack known as Buns, then sport, music, drama or clubs, and older Prep pupils complete supervised study in a dedicated room. Saturdays bring lessons, fixtures and an evening activity, with outings to the cinema and ice skating. Senior boarders follow a full programme through the week and at weekends, including films, sport, discos, trips and outdoor pursuits.
Academic and Pastoral Support
The Learning Support Department gives mainly in-class help with literacy, numeracy and study skills, and the Good Schools Guide lists provision for specific learning difficulties and autism spectrum conditions. Subject departments run weekly drop-in clinics, and each Sixth Former has a personal tutor for university planning.
Every international boarder at Dean Close School must have a UK guardian. British Guardianship provides AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship for international students at UK boarding schools.
Facilities & Activities at Dean Close 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 Dean Close School website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Dean Close School accepts international boarders from age 7 in the Prep School and from 13 in the Senior School, as well as onto the one-year Pre A Level course at 15 and into the Sixth Form at 16. Most international students join in September, and an International Induction at the start of the academic year helps new pupils settle in both the Prep and Senior Schools. Each pupil has a team of staff responsible for their welfare. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
No minimum IELTS or CEFR score is published. A reasonable level of English is expected, depending on the point of entry, although some younger pupils join the Prep School with little or no English and receive intensive English as a Foreign Language lessons in their first years, with support continuing into the Senior School where needed. The Pre A Level course combines intensive academic English with a STEM or Creative pathway, studied in full boarding alongside Year 11 pupils. British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement.
Child Student Visa
Dean Close School sponsors Child Student visas through the Dean Close Foundation, a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register that can sponsor pupils who are not British or Irish nationals. 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
All international pupils at Dean Close must have a guardian living in the UK, who acts as the school's point of contact and arranges accommodation during holidays and exeat weekends. The school can suggest guardianship agencies but does not arrange guardianship itself.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Dean Close School 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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. Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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 Dean Close 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. ASD: autism spectrum disorder affects how a student communicates, interacts with others and experiences the world around them.
