Documents and travel arrangements:
While Oakhill will provide some of the required documentation for exchange, it is up to the exchange families to organise unabridged birth certificates, passports, visas and flights. Oakhill will advise on flights, but families that are sending students to the same destination are encouraged to book the same flight. Families that have experienced the exchange process will be of great assistance in this regard. Our exchange partner schools will also supply parents with important documentation, such as visa letters.
Hosting:
Parents of students that have been selected for exchange must be able and willing to host exchange students from our partner schools for the full duration of the exchange. The Gordonstoun exchange is a straight swap. Host parents are the primary caregivers for the exchange students and need to be available as they would be for their own children. As a host family, you are not entirely responsible for taking your exchange student on excursions, but are more than welcome to do so. All other basic requirements need to be met by the host family, including transport to and from school, sporting and cultural events, and so on. You will have the opportunity of contacting a family with exchange hosting experience, should your child be selected to go on exchange.
Conduct:
Oakhill exchange students need to conduct themselves in an exemplary manner at all times while on exchange. They are, first and foremost, ambassadors of Oakhill, and poor conduct may have repercussions for the exchange relationship as a whole. The consumption of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or any other illegal substance, will not be tolerated and will be heavily sanctioned. Any other behaviour unbecoming of an Oakhill student will also be dealt with accordingly.
We want our Oakhill exchange students to immerse themselves in the schools they visit. We want them to have total experiences. They should partake in all the schools have to offer. It is, in many ways, a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we want our students to grasp it with both hands.
Academic expectations:
Exchange students need to stay up to date with their academic commitments at Oakhill. Work requirements and important assessments will be shared with exchange students via email or Google Classroom, and the onus is on the student to contact his/her teacher should he/she need clarity on any academic matters.
Students that go on exchange to Gordonstoun will not receive a first term Oakhill academic report.