On Saturday 24th June, Pippa’s Guardians were delighted to host a ‘Welcome Event’ for parents and children living in Hong Kong who have registered to join Pippa’s Guardians in September 2023. The Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong was the perfect venue for the day where we were thrilled to meet around 120 parents and students over the course of the day.
Commencing a UK boarding school education is an exciting but often daunting new experience for parents and children alike and at Pippa’s Guardians our aim is to offer guidance and support every step of the way to help everything go as smoothly as possible. We want to do everything we can to go the extra mile as an experienced and professional AEGIS gold accredited guardianship agency. The purpose of the ‘Welcome Event’ was to prepare parents and students for what lies ahead in September with a focus on pastoral and academic matters.
This unique and personal event was hosted by Pippa’s Guardians Managing Director, Ben Hughes with presentations from Regional Manager, Vicky Dickinson and Dr James Copeland-Jordan, Head of Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics from Cheltenham College. Ben, Vicky and James ran 3 seminars across the day, allowing a more intimate experience to listen, ask questions and meet the team on a one-to-one basis to chat and ask advice.
Vicky presented on ‘Preparing for Life at Boarding School’ and explained how an effective support network of Parent, Guardian and School, all working closely together, provides the best care for international students. She provided step by step guidance on preparations before arriving in the UK and explained how our personal ‘Meet and Greet’ service provides an opportunity to meet with a carefully matched Host Family as well as helping with many important practical matters.
Parents and students appreciated the advice Vicky gave on starting school, with many practical top tips shared so expectations can be managed and understood.
Advice on coping with homesickness, understanding mobile phone policy and common illnesses was particularly reassuring for our new Mums and Dads.
Vicky also spent time talking about living with a Host Family and how we ensure safe and smooth travel arrangements for our students, before concluding with a focus on the importance of good communication with our parents.
As a Cambridge University graduate, James was very well placed to share his knowledge and expertise at our ‘Welcome Event’. He presented on ‘Life at a British Boarding School – An Academic Perspective’ during which he introduced the differences of a UK education and how our new students should be preparing for a ‘different kind of busy’ in their new school careers. He explained how learning works in the UK and the audiences across all the 3 sessions found the explanation of a typical school week and timetable structure to be enlightening. James provided an overview of the UK curriculum and highlighted how demonstrating a sense of curiosity will help students to thrive academically.
Advice on how to prepare academically for the start of the new term was well received as was James’s advice to parents on how best to communicate with school to ensure that their children reach their full potential. The opportunity to ask questions both in the wider group and individually was appreciated by our parents.
We are grateful to everyone who attended the event and gave us such positive feedback. The whole Pippa’s team look forward to welcoming our new parents and students to the UK in September.