EXCELLENCE IN PASTORAL CARE
Clare Heaton has been opening her home to international students for almost 30 years. She started hosting when her children were young, and has never looked back. Clare’s experience, kind nature and expertise is the core of our guardianship services.
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She has seen hundreds of children and young adults come through her doors over the years, and knows exactly what it is to create a warm, cosy and caring environment, where children can thrive.
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“Guardianship is about providing a warm and loving home, where students can relax, study, and feel a part of the family."
Clare leads the guardianship of Belgravia, named after her daughter’s home in London, and oversees the guardianship services to make sure that that each of our students experiences the same level of care and dedication that she has provided to her students over the years.
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She works closely with our HK team to ensure that every parent's requests are answered quickly, efficiently, and with outstanding results.
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SUPPORT AT EVERY LEVEL
Our aim is for every child to feel safe, cared for, and as if they have a 'family away from home' with us in the UK. We know that guardianship is more than simply ticking boxes, and that it is a long term commitment to every child under our care. We try to do everything in our power to help your child to feel at home with a host family that suits their own expectations, and who will bring out the best in your child during their hosted weekends. Whether it's meeting your child at the airport, or helping them to choose a new pair of rugby boots, we make sure that your child always has someone helping them over in the UK.
ABOUT BELGRAVIA
Belgravia is a small family run organisation which puts the care of each student first. With almost 30 years of experience, we know what matters most to each child studying overseas.
With a dedicated team in Hong Kong as well as the UK, we are the link that makes your child's educational journey easy to navigate and gives you piece of mind while they are studying abroad.
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GUARDIANSHIP
Almost all boarding schools in the UK require all students whose families live overseas to have a Guardian assigned to them. It should be someone who resides in the UK, and many ask for them to be within 2 hours of the school.
Although the housemaster or housemistress will oversee the child's welfare while on site, outside of term time and during off-site weekends, an externally appointed guardian will take on the responsibility of looking after each student.
OUR HOSTS
We handpick each and every host family to ensure that they pass our quality assurance standards. Every home is visited by our staff, and we regularly check in with both hosts and students to ensure that they are both happy.
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Almost all of our students create long term links with their host family, and will often remain with them for their entire schooling career, meaning that they truly experience a 'home away from home' when they are with Belgravia.
OUR TESTIMONIALS
"Belgravia Guardians take a very personal approach. They are in regular contact with us at school and the family at home to always make sure everyone is happy. Communication goes freely in both directions and they take a real interest in how the students are getting on. Their care and attention to detail means nothing is missed, helping to provide excellent pastoral care not just during term time, but in the holidays too."
Dr Matt Smith,
Housemaster,
Wycliffe College
"As a Houseparent, It is essential that I have excellent communications with my parents and guardians. Belgravia provides this and more, a professional and friendly service, accessible line of communication with a dedicated point of contact, I would wholeheartedly recommend Belgravia Guardians."
James Bremner,
Head of Boys' Boarding,
Langley School
Belgravia Guardian's have always been incredibly helpful in providing reassurance to myself as a housemaster to ensure I know the students in my care during term time are always looked after beyond the school gates during holiday periods. Throughout the COVID pandemic the level of dedication and communication from staff went above and beyond the call of duty which meant so much to myself, parents and students demonstrating that the care of the student was always put first."
Brendan Craggs,
Housemaster,
King's College Taunton
"We used Belgravia to support us in pre-travel testing for a number of our students. In a fast-changing environment, they were calm, efficient and full of good humour, and often went above and beyond (at all hours of the day and night) to make sure that all of our students were able to board their flights. It was a pleasure to work with them, and we would have no hesitation in doing so again."
Angela Brennan,
Health Centre Manager,
Lancing College
"Belgravia Guardians is reliable. They provide a lot of support for students and care about students' situations a lot. The staff are lovely too!"
H Wong,
​Student,
Roedean School
"Belgravia are a pleasure to work with - the assistance and service that they provide for the students in their care is superb. They genuinely care about each of their pupils, with open communication between both me as a Houseparent and the families back home to ensure that they get the absolute most out of their education and pastoral experience."
Scott Edwards,
Junior Housemaster,
Barnard Castle School
"Belgravia Guardians offer an excellent service, going above and beyond to support the needs of each individual student and their families. They work closely with schools to provide a strong link, which is to the benefit of all parties."
Daniel Machin,
Collegiate Vice Principal,
Queen Ethelburga's College
"We used Belgravia to support us in pre-flight COVID 19 testing a number of our students returning home for Christmas. Throughout the process the team at Belgravia were incredibly invested in making sure that each and every one of our pupils got on their plane. They were excellent in their communication, always answered the phone to us, moved heaven and earth when needed and did all of this (no matter what time of the day or night) with such good grace and humour. I have no reservation in highly recommending them."
Emily Kane,
Sister in Charge of Health Centre,
Taunton School
“To sum up Belgravia Guardians in one word, it would have to be “professional”. They company are a delight to work with and their attention to detail is so appreciated in a role where it is all about that detail! As well as providing first class Guardianship care for my students, they are also a source of information and support for Boarding staff. In the current Covid-19 uncertainty, Belgravia staff have been calm, informative and available at all hours of the day and night to answer questions or provide last minute travel and testing assistance. I cannot thank them or praise them enough. They really do make my job that much more straightforward.”
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Gilly Cable,
Senior Housemistress,
Kent College Pembury
"A big thank you to Belgravia who were a fantastic help with getting our students home before Christmas despite last minutes changes to regulations. Belgravia staff were patient and companionate throughout the process. Despite complications along the way, that were out of Belgravia’s hands, they were quick to communicate changes to us and were on hand at the airport to support. Our students are incredibly thankful for the individual care shown by Belgravia staff."
Maria Smith,
International Student Officer, Richard Huish School
"Belgravia has provided excellent Guardianship for our international boarders at both the Prep and the Senior School. We have found Lauren in particular to be extremely efficient, helpful and most importantly, she always has the well-being of our boarders at heart and truly cares about all aspects of their boarding life."
Nick and Jules Benwell, Houseparents,
Mount Kelly Preparatory School
"We used Belgravia to support us in pre-travel testing for a number of our students. In a fast-changing environment, they were calm, efficient and full of good humour, and often went above and beyond (at all hours of the day and night) to make sure that all of our students were able to board their flights. It was a pleasure to work with them, and we would have no hesitation in doing so again."
David Snell,
Housemaster,
King's College Taunton
"In need of advice for a boarder on a Sunday lunchtime, I called Belgravia Guardians and Cora answered. Belgravia were not guardians to this particular boarder, yet they showed an exceptional duty of care to this child. Not only did Cora give us good advice, she made arrangements herself for our boarder and kept in contact with us throughout, into the evening, until the situation was resolved. I am very impressed and believe they would go above and beyond for every child in their care."
Justine Christie,
Head of Boarding,
Ipswich School
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Emergency Contact Numbers:
UK: +44 7724 201894
HK: +852 5338 0964
One of the most important things to us is that both students and parents are never worried that they can't contact each other. Being thousands of miles away can be daunting for the whole family, which is why we have a dedicated office with staff in Hong Kong, so that you can call, email, whatsapp, or drop in anytime to let us know concerns. If it's the middle of the night, and you have a worry, you can simply call our UK team who will be working away in London to make sure that your child is cared for 24/7.