We meet international students at the airport, help them settle into their new UK city, and stay alongside them through the year — so the family back home can breathe.
Welcome week is brilliant for finding a lecture hall. It does not show a 17-year-old how to top up an Oyster card, find the closest halal grocer, or open a UK bank account before rent is due.
University inductions are excellent at what they do — orienting students inside the institution.
Everything that happens off campus, in the days before welcome week begins, and through the rest of the year.
Four moments — and we keep showing up after the welcome is over.
Pricing indicative — final quote depends on city, airport and arrival time. All packages include one year of GSOS Club membership.
The essentials, beautifully done. The first day taken care of.
Everything in Welcome, plus the practical first week.
A bespoke welcome — pick what you need, leave the rest.
We do not place a student with anyone we would not trust with our own child. Every GSOS host goes through the same rigorous process before they ever hold a name sign.
Every host holds a current Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate — the same standard required for working with children in UK schools.
We contact two independent referees and verify identity documents before any host is accepted onto the programme.
All hosts complete a GSOS safeguarding and communication programme covering student welfare, lone-working protocols, and emergency procedures.
Hosts attend a face-to-face orientation before their first pickup — we meet them too, so you are never handing your child to a stranger we haven't vetted ourselves.
A GSOS host who has passed an Enhanced DBS check, had their references independently verified, and completed our safeguarding and communication programme. Almost always a senior international student who has made the same arrival journey themselves. Every host wears a GSOS t-shirt and carries a sign with your child's name — and we send you a confirmation message the moment they are in the car.
Our September 2026 pilot covers London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow. We're adding cities through the year — request a call and we'll tell you whether we cover yours yet, or when we plan to.
The package price covers the host's time, the airport-pickup logistics, the physical packs (bedding, kitchen), the first meal, and the year of GSOS Club membership. Final pricing depends on three things: city, distance from the airport, and time of arrival. We always send a written quote before any commitment.
We do our best to discourage 3am arrivals at the booking stage — but if it can't be helped, we still meet them. The host is paid extra for unsociable hours, and your child gets the same warm welcome regardless of the clock.
Every package includes email and chat support for the full academic year. You can reach us with anything — a tax question, a homesick call, a half-term plan, a referral to a counsellor. The Settle package adds priority response times. The Tailored package can include monthly grocery runs and full half-term guardianship.
We're an independent service that complements university welcome programmes — we cover what the university doesn't. We are working with universities to offer GSOS as an opt-in service for their international students; ask your university's international office whether they've heard of us.
Book a free call directly into our calendar, or send us a message and we'll come back to you within two working days.
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