Guide to Working in the UK
Full-time overseas/international students (as defined) may work part-time for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term-time and unlimited hours per week during the vacations. In reality most students find 10 - 15 hours per week is the most they can cope with. It is important that students do not allow their studies to suffer as a result of working.
Students with families: The basic living costs for twelve months for a couple with one child would be approximately £12,000. If you have more than one child accompanying you, you should add a further £15,000 per child. If the children are young, you will probably have to look after them yourselves as domestic help is hard to find and is expensive. There are private day nurseries that will accept children under school age (five years) but many have waiting lists and the costs are high. Lists of nurseries and child minders are available from each Local government offices or Citizens Advice Bureau.
Should you decide to bring your family and children between 5 and 16 years old, the Local Education Authority (LEA) has a duty to provide a place for them in a local school. It is therefore advisable that you let the College know in advance that you will be bringing your child(ren) and will need school places.
Schools are organised into either:
- First school for 5 to 8 years (Key Stage 1).
- Middle school for 8 to 12 years (Key Stage 2).
- High school for 11 to 16+ years (Key Stages 3 and 4).
Where your child/children go to school depends on where you live when you arrive. You cannot finalise arrangements for schooling until you know exactly where you will be living. Some schools may have a school uniform, others may have a liberal dress code. Discipline is maintained through an agreed behaviour code within the individual school. There is no corporal punishment in State schools. To help your child settle into the school, it would be helpful if you brought a recent teacher's report and some samples of work.
To make your child's stay in London as useful and enjoyable as possible, local schools would appreciate it if you could bring some reading books in your language and a dual dictionary (e.g. Japanese/English - English/Japanese) suitable for your child to use in school. These dictionaries would be used by both the teacher and your child to help them with everyday school work. So please ensure that they are suitable for both your child's age and ability. As there are such a diverse number of languages spoken by students at the College, local schools are not always able to provide these resources.