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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 King's Ely
Nominated Guardian for King's Ely. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for King's Ely? 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 King's Ely 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 King's Ely 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 King's Ely, 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 King's Ely, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →King's Ely Overview
King's Ely is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for pupils aged 2 to 18, with a history of more than 1,000 years linked to Ely Cathedral. It lies about 15 minutes from Cambridge, with trains to London every half hour, and runs as Nursery and Pre-Prep, King's Ely Prep for ages 7 to 13, King's Ely Senior for ages 13 to 16, and the Sixth Form.
Pupils take GCSEs and IGCSEs in the Senior School and then A Levels in the Sixth Form, where options also include business and sport vocational courses, Core Maths and the Extended Project Qualification.
Boarding at King's Ely
Around 200 pupils board across the Prep, Senior School and Sixth Form, including about 40 in the Prep School, and the school community includes more than 40 nationalities, although most pupils are British. Boarding starts at age 8 and is offered as full or flexi boarding, with international students living alongside British boarders and some day pupils in integrated houses.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Prep boarders live in Priory House (girls) and Walsingham House (boys aged 8 to 13). Senior girls board in Etheldreda, and senior boys in School House, part of the medieval monastic buildings. Sixth formers move to Hill House (girls) or Hereward Hall (boys), built in 1881. In Years 9 to 11 up to three or four pupils share a room, while Year 12 rooms are single or double and most Year 13 boarders have single rooms. Prep houses are run by resident houseparents with matrons and evening tutors.
Boarding Life
On weekday evenings boarders can use the gym, sports hall and library, along with art and music facilities. Weekends bring Saturday and Sunday events, including full-day trips, and Prep boarders enjoy outings such as paintballing, skating, Go Ape and the theatre.
Academic and Pastoral Support
The Learning Support Department helps pupils with mild learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and some autism profiles, through study skills help, advice to teachers and timetabled support lessons in Years 10 and 11. Pastoral care combines form tutors and the house system with a 24-hour Medical Centre, school counsellors, a chaplain and a community welfare adviser.
International boarders at King's Ely 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 King's Ely
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 King's Ely website.
Information for International Students and Parents
King's Ely runs integrated international programmes in the Prep and Senior schools rather than a separate international school. Prep boarders aged 8 to 13 can join with English language support, including an immersive programme in Years 7 and 8 that can lead to the mainstream Senior curriculum in Year 9. A one-year IGCSE programme in Year 11 prepares students for A Levels, and international students also join the Sixth Form in Year 12. Most international students join in September. 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. ESOL support is extensive: Prep pupils can have up to eight English lessons a week in groups of no more than five, Year 11 IGCSE students have nine English lessons a week, and senior students work towards Trinity, Cambridge First and IGCSE ESOL qualifications. International sixth formers receive up to three IELTS preparation lessons a week.
Child Student Visa
King's Ely is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register and can sponsor this visa for international boarders. 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 international programme students, the school arranges airport transfers at the start and end of the programme, and London Stansted Airport is under an hour away by road.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for King's Ely 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 King's Ely, 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 King's Ely'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 King's Ely, 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 King's Ely 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. King's Ely 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 King's Ely, 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 King's Ely 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 King's Ely. 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. ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects concentration, attention, impulse control and activity levels.
