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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 Hanford Prep
Nominated Guardian for Hanford Prep. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Hanford Prep? 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 Hanford Prep 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 Hanford Prep 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 Hanford Prep, 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 Hanford Prep, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →Hanford Prep Overview
Hanford Prep is an independent prep school for girls aged 7 to 13, offering day places and full boarding in the village of Child Okeford, near Blandford Forum in Dorset. The school occupies Hanford House, a Jacobean country house in open countryside. Founded in the 1940s by a clergyman and his wife who wanted to start a girls' school, Hanford passed to a charitable trust in 2004 and is part of the Sherborne Schools Group, alongside Sherborne Boys, Sherborne Girls and Sherborne Prep.
With a roll of around 70 girls, Hanford is a small school in which most pupils board, and girls move on to senior schools at 13. Riding is part of everyday life: the Grade II listed stables, indoor school and cross-country schooling paddock support weekly riding lessons, and Hanford is a Pony Club linked centre.
Boarding at Hanford Prep
Around 40 girls board, well over half of the school, and boarding is available from age 7. Boarders stay in school at weekends, and day girls in Years 3 to 5 can choose a shorter or a longer school day.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Most girls sleep in the main house, where 14 named dormitories are spread across two floors. Younger girls have larger dormitories on the first floor, sleeping six to eight, while older girls move to smaller rooms on the top floor for two to six, some of them interlinked. Girls in the final year, the Upper Sixth, board separately in Fan's. Matrons and nurses supervise boarders from wake-up to bedtime.
Boarding Life
Evenings bring supper, activities and prep, with time to play and phone home before set bedtimes. Saturday mornings are given to activities, often followed by matches, and Sunday starts with chapel. Weekends mix outings to the beach, the cinema or Christmas markets with tree climbing, swimming, camping, cake making and caring for the school's animals.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Learning support specialises in literacy and mathematics for girls with a specific learning difference, through individual and small-group lessons, touch-typing, study skills and individual education plans. Every girl has a tutor who keeps in regular contact with parents, and an independent listener, a registered counsellor, visits weekly.
International boarders at Hanford Prep 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 Hanford Prep
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 Hanford Prep website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Hanford Prep welcomes international boarders aged 7 to 13, and the school is non-selective. The main intake is in September, though girls can join at other points in the year when places are available. The school recommends a stay of at least one full academic year for international girls, and considers shorter stays of one or two terms for a limited number of applicants. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
Hanford Prep does not publish minimum English levels for international applicants. English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement. International girls follow the full curriculum alongside their classmates, including music, performing arts, sport and co-curricular activities, and dormitories mix girls of different nationalities.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. Hanford Prep is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register, and 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.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Hanford Prep boarders. Our boarding school guardianship service covers regular contact with the school, travel coordination to and from Dorset 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 Hanford Prep, 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 Hanford Prep'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 Hanford Prep, 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 Hanford Prep 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. Hanford Prep 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 Hanford Prep, 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 Hanford Prep 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 Hanford Prep. 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.
