The new academic year has just started! It is believed that some boarding pupils’ parents may still be confused about exeat weekend and a half-term. The following passage may answer your question!

Pupils must leave the school during exeat weekend and the half-term. But what does exeat weekend mean? Exeat weekend is the weekend that schools close completely for two nights, usually Friday and Saturday. All pupils must leave the school. Sometimes, the exeat weekend will extend to Monday. Some host families may be distanced from the school. Therefore, parents may wonder if their child can stay at the school dormitory instead of staying with a host family. I am sorry that the answer is no. Pupils must leave school on exeat weekends as there are no teachers on duty. Therefore, we always suggest parents find a host family close to the school.

We don’t suggest pupils bring many things to the host family during the exeat weekend as they are only staying a few days. However, pupils can bring more stuff like books to their host family during half-term as it is a long holiday. Most boarding schools have three terms, Christmas term (ie. Autumn term), Easter term (ie. Spring term) and summer term. 
  
Spending time with the host family is a good idea for pupils, especially international pupils, to explore more cities. It gives a glimpse of life in the UK. Although host families can never replace children’s families, they can help you to understand local culture and celebrate festivals, like Christmas and Easter, in a traditional way.

British School Portal strongly encourages you to challenge yourself and try new things. You will be surprised by the unexpected results! Enjoy the boarding life and gives everything a try.

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