MyChoice UKEnglish High School Placements in England

More and more students from across the globe are requesting to attend high schools in England for long-term academic immersion and to further their education.

MyChoice UK offers international students 3 different English High School Placement programmes at various high schools across England, from state high school plus homestay placements, boarding school placements or specialised sports plus boarding placements.

MyChoice UK Programmes

• State School with Homestay
• Boarding School Placements
• Sports Placement with Boarding

This programme is best suited to students aged 14+ and is only available to EU students.

Programme lengths can vary, students can choose to study in the UK for:

• 1 Term (September to December)
• 2 Terms (September to March)
• 1 Academic Year (September to June/July)

English state schools are an ideal opportunity for educational immersion as there are very few other international students attending, meaning a truly authentic experience, especially when paired with homestay accommodation.

Live with an English Host Family

One of the biggest advantages of living with a host family can offer is the additional immersion and exposure to a warm, welcoming ‘home’ environment that can encourage, support as well as relax a student into their new surroundings, especially when under challenging circumstances that a study abroad placement brings.

Living away from campus allows students to separate themselves from the academic environment and directly participate in the host country’s culture and society, through daily interaction with the host family.

This programme is available to both EU and non-EU students aged 12+. Boarding schools are a great option for younger students looking for an overseas education.

Choosing to study at an English boarding school offers a traditional, academically focussed British style of education. Boarding schools offer highly qualified teachers and often an additional focus on extra-curricular activities such as sport, art subjects, additional languages and interest areas like debate.

For younger students aged 12 and 13, their curriculum will be varied at Junior or Preparatory level, however from age 13/14, students move up into Senior school, refining their subject choices for their ‘General Certificate of Secondary Education’ examinations taken at age 16 and often boarding schools will offer many additional subjects that State Schools do not.

Similarly, from age 16+ students at boarding school have the option of studying towards their ‘A Levels’ in a few focused subject areas, however the subjects can be much more unique and focused than State Schools offer.

Living on campus also brings lots of advantages to students studying abroad, not only the accessibility of the school’s facilities and activities but additionally, a great support network including other students, academic staff and non-teaching staff, creating a special environment for students to thrive in. On weekends there are often plenty of organised activities for boarding students to take part in, and we often hear of our boarding students meeting up with local day students.

Available for sport students aged 12+, with an emphasis being on younger students having the greater chance of improving their sporting career.

We are pleased to have built up a strong network of independent boarding schools and professional academies with a sporting speciality, allowing us to offer a unique study abroad opportunity to students possessing elite sporting talent or strong interest in a sport.

These are high-performance placements at high-quality top performing boarding schools, delivering first-class education alongside academy style training, equipment and facilities to enhance student’s player development.

Specialist Sports on offer are, but not limited to Football, Rugby, Hockey, Tennie, Swimming, Rowing and Equine.

All our UK state schools offer varied academic subject options and extracurricular activities, however for students who have a preference on the location they wish to spend their state school academic placement, we offer a regional choice.

This regional choice allows students to choose the area in which they would like to study, we will then work to receive a placement at a state school in this area. Students can choose a region from 2 tiers of choice, in which we have 9 different areas all offering excellent, but different opportunities.

Please note, regional choice is only for State School plus Homestay programme. Students opting for our Boarding School programme are able to select the Boarding school they wish to study at from our selection, please contact us for more information.

England is well known for its historic schooling system, and there is an evolving landscape of schools across the country. No matter the type of school in England, the academic year runs from September to June, and a students ‘grade’ or ‘year’ is determined by their age before September 1st.

After completing ‘primary’ or ‘pre-preparatory’ education (Key Stages 1 and 2) at age 11, students continue compulsory ‘secondary’ education taking students through Key Stages 3 and 4 or ‘Junior School’ into ‘Senior School’ in boarding schools, with Key Stage 4 (ages 14 to 16) concentrating on GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations.

Key Stage 5 is post-16 education and can be either academic or vocational. Both these can be studied by attending continuous ‘schooling’ at a ‘sixth form’ or ‘college’. Academic post-16 qualifications tend to be in the form of ‘GCE A Levels which are similar to a high school diploma in other countries, or vocational qualifications can include Level 3 BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) or International Baccalaureate (IB).

GCSE subjects are studied for two years (Years 10 and 11), culminating in examinations at the end of Year 11.
At 14 years old, students can choose which subjects they would like to study for their GCSE qualifications. Typically, a GCSE student will be studying approximately 9 to 11 subjects with English language, English literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology being compulsory (sometimes science is taught as 3 separate subjects, sometimes all 3 are combined into a double award). The remaining subjects are the students’ choice to make, choosing at least 1 from each category (modern languages, humanities, arts, technology) and physical education is required by all students but optional as a qualification.

Available subjects will vary depending on the school.

If a student is 16 when they enter the UK for education they will go into Sixth Form or College. This is where they study towards their AS-Levels and/or A-Levels. AS Levels are the first year of A Levels and equate to half the qualification, the second year completes the A Level qualification as a whole.

Students select between 3 and 5 subjects to study allowing more time to focus on those areas. The subjects available may well be the same, as they studied at GCSE level but in further depth and detail.

BTEC diplomas are designed to give students further knowledge within a particular sector or industry and therefore are more focused on the future workplace that the student may be interested in. The course content is a mixture of practical learning and theory and are available in a range of sectors including childcare, travel and tourism, hospitality, business, engineering to name a few. BTECs can also be taken in combination with other post-16 qualifications and are equivalent to A levels.

Not just available in England, this globally recognised qualification is available world-wide. It is a challenging programme that combines skills-driven components with academic subjects that aims to prepare students for university and their careers beyond education.
Subject choices can include languages, social sciences, experimental sciences, mathematics and the arts. Course content involves research-based essay writing, displaying theory, critical and creative thinking as well as demonstrating personal and interpersonal development.

Visa Information

State School Placements

EEA Students – No visa requirements at present time. (Please note changes may be applicable due to Brexit)

Non-EEA Students – Students from non-EEA countries are not entitled to attend state-funded schools according to immigration laws. Please find more information on the UK Government website.

Boarding School Placements

EEA Students – No visa requirements at present time. (Please note changes may be applicable due to Brexit)

Non-EEA Students – Require a Tier 4 (Child) Study Visa. Students from non-EEA countries are only allowed to study in England on the basis that they attend a fee-paying independent school who are registered as a Tier 4 sponsor. These schools are limited to the number of Tier 4 Study Visas they can sponsor and therefore have strict requirements in place for issuing them. Once the schools individual requirements have been met, students will receive a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) letter to support their own visa application.
For more information on a Tier 4 (Child) Study Visa, and guidance on completing the application from the UK Government.