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What our host
“The experience of hosting with West Country Host Families has been incredible. I had hoped it would be inspiring for my son to meet someone from Spain and share experiences with them: making friendships across cultures. However, I hadn’t anticipated how much the rest of the family would also gain from the experience. I have loved welcoming our Spanish guest into our family and watching him grow and mature while our relationship with him develops year on year. What a privilege it has been to extend our family in this unique way. I’d recommend it to anyone considering it.”
Rebekah Butler, Ilfracombe (2024)
“We had a great experience with West Country Host Families and good communication throughout. They were there to support at every stage of the journey and were always contactable should we have any questions or support requirements for our guest during the settling in period.”
Sarah Green, Taunton (2024)
““We had such a great experience hosting that the three weeks flew by so quick. Our guest was lovely and got on with all four of my children and she was happy to get stuck in and help around the farm. West Country Host Families are always at the end of the phone and not far away if they need to come out (although we did not need this). We loved our guest so much we didn’t want her to go home and there were tears from myself, my children and our guest as we waved goodbye as the coach drove off. We look forward to hosting again next year.”
Laura Holmes, Musbury (2024)
““This is the first time we used West Country Host Families and found the process very easy and well explained, their expertise matched our son with a Spanish boy very well and everyone had a great few weeks, we will definitely look to do it again.”
Sarah Horwood, Copplestone (2024)
“Hosting with Harriet and Mark has been a real delight. The company are efficient, organised and friendly and I felt supported the entire time. Our Spanish student was well behaved, kind and also hilarious and cheeky and we loved every minute.”
Sarah Goodson, Axminster (2024)
““As first-time hosts, we weren’t quite sure what to expect but we found the experience very positive. Mark and Harriet were extremely helpful when we needed some extra support and we would definitely recommend hosting.”
Camilla Murless, Bridport (2024)
“We have never hosted before, and although we were excited and looking forward to a new experience we were a little anxious about the experience. We were wondering how the student would fit in to the dynamics of our unique family. As it happens we had nothing to worry about! Our student Laura was absolutely wonderful. We could not have asked for a more thoughtful and sincere young lady to join us in our home. We were very impressed with her maturity and her manners. Laura and Kitty had lots of fun and enjoyed each other’s company, which could be heard throughout the house by the giggling and laughter emanating from Kitty’s bedroom!
I found the communication from Mark and Harriet clear, concise and well organised. The process from start to finish was very simple and straightforward. From collection, payments and the mid-stay visit, it was reassuring to know someone was at hand if there were any problems.”
Bobby Armstrong, Chard (2023)
“Thank you for letting us host West Country Host Families, it has been an amazing experience and we will do it again and again! My children and I loved it so much to have an additional member of the family and it’s been a great pleasure looking after our guest throughout the entire time of the summer holiday. The children got on so well – 13 and 14 both boys and a 17-year-old girl, which was amazing!
Thank you also for the great organisation and communication, this helped us manage our hosting smoothly and hassle-free. All the advice including how to make our guest as comfortable as possible including packing them plenty of food during their long trip to Bilbao is greatly received as I would not have thought of it, so it’s been very very useful, so thank you so much, and we would love to host for you again!”
Chatt, Bristol (2023)
“As first-time hosts for West Country Families, we were a little apprehensive. However, the whole experience has been very positive. On the occasion that we did need to call for support we had an excellent response and were very grateful. As a family we would wholeheartedly recommend hosting. The professionalism and support you have shown, ahead, during and post the visit was exceptional.”
Jim & Louise Janes, Tiverton (2023)
“This is the first year of us being a host family. All communication and advice prior to the visit was very good and friendly. We had a lovely Spanish girl come and stay with us and she fitted into the family amazingly. We all had a wonderful three weeks, introducing her to English food and ways and her teaching us some of hers. The three weeks flew by and encouraged us to enjoy our local area with fresh eyes.”
Claire Meaker, Bude (2023)
“We hosted a lovely 10-year-old girl in 2022 for 3 weeks. The host company matched her perfectly with our children and they shared a wonderful summer together. Since our Spanish guest has gone home my children have kept in regular contact with her and we are planning on visiting her in Spain and I think the girls will be friends for life. Our Spanish guest also must have enjoyed the experience as she is returning this summer and staying with us again.
I would certainly recommend hosting as the organisers are very supportive and are always on hand. It was a great way for our children to learn a bit of Spanish and experience other cultures.
The remuneration is generous and more than covers costs and allowed me to take some unpaid leave from my work to spend with the children. I can honestly say that having our Spanish guest really enhanced our summer.”
Lucy Watkinson, Rousdon (2022)
“As a whole family we loved welcoming Ollie into our home for the three weeks of last summer. He was so much fun to have in the house and we loved getting out and about and showing him our local area... being tourists in your own county is a real joy! It's great fun for my children to have someone else to hang out with and they enjoyed showing him the ropes of English life, from navigating a box of fish and chips in a seagull-packed esplanade, to counting all the church spires visible from the very top of Glastonbury Tor! We cannot wait to see what adventures next summer holds for us all.”
Louise Naum, Taunton (2022)
“Looking forward to hosting this year! West Country Host Families are a great hosting school to host from. I have missed having our Spanish student for the past two summers due to Covid, hoping to see him this summer for our seventh summer holiday with him. We have made many memories and bonded well with the student as well as his family. Having the student stay he found out what it would be like to live in England and to build his English vocabulary. I would highly recommend hosting as we all enjoy our times together and have something to look forward to throughout the year as well as looking back on the moments spent with the student.”
Louisa Lightfoot, Tiverton (2022)
“We decided to host a Spanish student as a friend had already done it the year before and my daughter loved sharing the experience. We found hosting made us do more as a family, we did our best to make the summers fun. We hosted the same girl for five years and made a wonderful friend. She became like one of the family. She taught us her grandmother’s tortilla patata recipe and we taught her to ride ponies. It isn’t all plain sailing – sometimes there were moments when she was homesick, but we treated her as one of our own and got her through it. It was an enriching experience for our family, and our extended family also enjoyed coming down to see her. My daughter, her cousin and I all keep in touch and miss having her. She is now 18 and at university and we are planning to arrange for her to visit us and for my daughter to go there in the future.”
Katie Silver, Colyton (2019)
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