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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 Summer Fields
Nominated Guardian for Summer Fields. Boarding school guardianship for international students.
Are you looking for a Nominated Guardian for Summer Fields? 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 Summer Fields 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 Summer Fields 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 Summer Fields, 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 Summer Fields, from choosing the right year of entry through to an offer and enrolment, with Child Student visa guidance and guardianship arranged alongside.
Learn More →Summer Fields Overview
Summer Fields is an independent boarding and day preparatory school for boys aged 4 to 13, set in more than 70 acres in Summertown, about five minutes from the centre of Oxford. It has a Pre-Prep for younger boys and a Prep School that takes pupils to the end of Year 8. The school was founded in 1864 by Archibald and Gertrude Maclaren.
Boys stay until 13+, when they move on to senior schools, most often boarding schools such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Radley. The curriculum covers the core subjects alongside Classics, modern languages, humanities, art, design and technology, drama and PSHEE, and most boys learn a musical instrument.
Boarding at Summer Fields
Summer Fields describes itself as a full boarding school, and around 180 boys board. Boys can begin boarding at age eight, and most boarders have joined by Year 7 or Year 8. There is no flexi boarding. Boys may take weekend leave on most weekends, but between 100 and 150 boys are usually in school at any weekend.
Boarding Houses and Accommodation
Boarders live in Lodges organised by age. All new eight-year-olds board together in Borva, before moving to Savage's for Years 4 and 5, Upper House for Year 6, Front Lodge for Year 7, and Mayfield or Cottage for Year 8. Each Lodge is run by Lodgeparents, helped by resident gap-year matrons and, in the larger Lodges, a Lodge Assistant, with visiting staff attached to each Lodge every week. Most staff live on site.
Boarding Life
Lodgeparents welcome boys back each evening, with main meals in the dining room and snacks and fruit in the Lodges. On Sundays, Chapel and meals are the only fixed commitments, and each Sunday ends with a film. Weekends include trips to trampolining, climbing and high ropes centres, while on-site options range from swimming, squash and fives to table tennis, croquet and the adventure playground.
Academic and Pastoral Support
Five Learning Support teachers give boys one or two individual lessons a week and run small handwriting groups, supported by a visiting Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapist. The department works closely with the pastoral team and Hobson's, the school's welfare centre.
Every international boarder at Summer Fields must have a UK guardian. British Guardianship provides AEGIS accredited boarding school guardianship for international students at UK boarding schools.
Facilities & Activities at Summer Fields
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 Summer Fields website.
Information for International Students and Parents
Summer Fields welcomes boys from overseas as boarders, and international pupils join as full boarders from age eight. Most international students join in September; entry in other year groups is considered individually. The school expects overseas pupils to complete a full course of study and does not run short-term study programmes. British Guardianship supports international families through every stage of the application with our boarding school admissions service.
English Language Requirements
All lessons are taught in English, and Summer Fields expects international pupils to speak and understand English fluently so that they can manage both academically and socially. English is assessed as part of the application, and British Guardianship confirms the level required for each year of entry during placement. A limited number of places are available for English as an additional language tuition, charged as an extra, and Learning Support teachers also help pupils with EAL in subject lessons.
Child Student Visa
Students coming to the UK from overseas will usually need a Child Student visa. Summer Fields is a licensed Child Student sponsor on the UKVI register and sponsors the visa for boarders only, not for day pupils. The school works with an immigration specialist that acts on its behalf to obtain the correct visa before the pupil joins, and the process can take around six months, so early planning is advised. 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
Summer Fields requires every overseas pupil to have a relative or legal guardian living in the UK whom the school can contact in an emergency, and parents are responsible for making this arrangement. For a boy of prep school age, the guardian is an important link between the school, the pupil and his parents.
British Guardianship is AEGIS accredited and a BSA Certified Guardian, and can act as the nominated UK guardian for Summer Fields 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 Summer Fields, 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 Summer Fields'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 Summer Fields, 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 Summer Fields 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. Summer Fields 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 Summer Fields, 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 Summer Fields 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 Summer Fields. 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. SLCN: speech, language and communication needs affect how a student understands language, expresses themselves or communicates with others.
