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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 St Swithun's School
Nominated Guardian for St Swithun's School. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 →St Swithun's School Overview
St Swithun's School is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Winchester, Hampshire, educating around 500 girls aged 11 to 18 on a 45-acre site on the outskirts of the city. A separate Prep School for girls aged 4 to 11, with a co-educational preschool, is a day school. Founded in 1884 as Winchester High School, the school took its present name in 1927 and has an Anglican foundation.
Boarding is offered from Year 7. Pupils take GCSEs, then A Levels in a Sixth Form of around 140 students, where the Extended Project Qualification is also available.
Boarding at St Swithun's School
More than 200 girls board, about two in five pupils, and many nationalities are represented. Full boarding is offered to UK and international students, weekly boarding suits families in London and the region, and day pupils can flexi board when beds are free. International boarders have only one exeat weekend a year, in May, so full boarders spend most weekends in school.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Year 7 boarders start in Le Roy, the entry house, sharing rooms with one or two other girls. From Year 8 they move to one of four senior houses, Hillcroft, Earlsdown, Hyde Abbey and High House, each home to 35 to 45 girls with about eight from every year group, and all senior house rooms are single. Upper Sixth students live in Finlay, the sixth form house, and each house is led by a Housemistress with house tutors.
Boarding Life
After lessons and clubs, supper and supervised homework follow until 8pm with house staff on hand, and older students can keep working with tutor support until 10pm. On Saturdays many girls compete in sport, debating or Model United Nations, and each weekend offers more than 14 activities, from pottery, golf and water sports to escape rooms, trips to London and visits to Stonehenge.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Learning support offers one-to-one and small-group help and exam access arrangements, and the Good Schools Guide lists support for specific learning difficulties, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs and physical disability. An EAL department gives individual English lessons, and house staff, a student guidance team and a sleep programme support wellbeing.
International boarders at St Swithun's School 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's School website.
Information for International Students and Parents
St Swithun's School admits international boarders at three main entry points: Year 7 at age 11, Year 9 at age 13 and Year 12 at age 16 for the Sixth Form. Places in Year 8 and Year 10 are considered when space allows, and students join in September at the start of the academic year. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
St Swithun's School does not publish minimum CEFR or IELTS levels by year of entry. English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement.
Once at the school, students can work with the EAL department, which offers one-to-one lessons covering vocabulary and grammar together with support for curriculum subjects, particularly English at Key Stages 3 and 4. Lessons can be shaped around each student's academic aims, and Sixth Form students can prepare for IELTS or a similar test where universities require it. Mandarin lessons can also be arranged with a visiting teacher.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. St Swithun's School is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register, and its boarding and admissions team advises students, parents and guardians on Home Office requirements, while the visa application itself is submitted by parents. The school also arranges airport transfers through a local taxi firm whose drivers are DBS checked. 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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. St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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 St Swithun's 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. SEMH: social, emotional and mental health needs include anxiety, low mood and difficulty managing emotions or behaviour.
