Hi, my name is Loni Fischer, and I’m from Germany. I spent five months attending an English high school as part of an exchange program. I lived on the southwest coast in Paignton, a small town by the sea. I was in the 12th grade at Brixham College.
I can't exactly pinpoint why I wanted to do an exchange program. It wasn't something I had planned for years, but the wish grew over time. However, I decided to go for only half a year because I didn’t want to miss home too much.
For an organization, I chose Experiment e.V., which is a non-profit organization that supports cultural exchange. They also have a partner organization in the UK, Interstudies.
Application Process and Costs
The application process was divided into two parts. Firstly, I had to apply to my German organization. You can apply very early; the earlier you apply, the higher your chances are of finding a fitting host family! I started my application in November of the previous year. I had to answer a few questions online about my overall plans for the exchange. In December, I had an online interview with other applicants. There we had to complete tasks, where we could demonstrate different abilities, like teamwork. Then, we also had a one-on-one interview with a selector. They asked me about my motivation, and we had to describe our daily routine in English. However, I don't think they excluded anyone because of their English skills. Once my German organization accepted me, we had to sign a contract. Then, the process of looking for an exchange family started. I got documents from the English partner organization that I had to fill out in English this time. They included questions about my daily routine, hobbies, and other similar topics. I also had to write a letter to my potential host families; they used it to find a suitable match. Once I submitted everything to the organization, I received my first host family assignment in May, about four months before I left. However, the arrangement later changed. For me, it happened four months before departure, but sometimes families are confirmed much later. There’s no need to worry about that, as the delay is often due to logistical challenges in contacting potential host families.
Program Fees
I am not sure how much we paid overall, but the current costs are 10,999€ for one semester. My organization offers many different scholarships. For example, they have put a strong focus on sustainability and offer a “climate scholarship” for students traveling to Norway without flying. However, you will probably also need monthly allowances. On average, I needed 250 euros per month.
Host family
It was a unique situation in the region where I stayed. Most exchange students who came from the English partner organization were placed in the same region. There were three small towns so close to each other that they were nearly blending into one another, and most of the exchange students in England were in this area. I would say that there were about 60 exchange students across these three towns when I was staying there. Naturally, it’s easiest to connect with people who speak your native language. Some people might see this as a downside, but I think stepping out of your comfort zone and meeting anyone new, even if they’re from your home country, is still valuable.
About two weeks before I was supposed to leave, I received an email saying that my original host family had canceled. The email also said that they had already found a new family for me and they just needed to finalize the paperwork. I got the details the next day. My host mother was in her early seventies, and I also had a host sister from Italy. Because there were so many exchange students, there were a lot of double placements. However, exchange students were only paired with someone who didn't speak their language. That way, they still needed to communicate in English and hopefully connect better with their host families as well. It was still a shock, but in the end, I’m glad it happened. My original host family would have just been a single host mother without a second exchange student. In hindsight, having my host sister was one of the best things that happened to me. This year, I even visited her in Italy. I didn’t just learn about English culture during my exchange but also got to know a lot about Italy, both during and after the program. Since there were so many exchange students in my area, I also learned a lot about other countries.
In many countries, host families don’t receive payment for hosting students—they may only get a small allowance or financial aid if needed. However, in the UK, host families are paid, which makes sense because the middle class there is structured differently than in Germany. Many families wouldn’t host exchange students if it weren’t financially viable. Unfortunately, some host families view hosting as a form of income, which can reflected in how they treat their exchange students. My host family didn’t feel like a “real family” experience—we didn’t do many family activities, like trips. That said, it’s important to adjust your expectations, especially considering the financial situation and high cost of living. It’s best to plan trips on your own. That’s a tip I’d give: it's best to plan trips on your own, and you should definitely take trips and see the different sites of the country you are staying in if you are able to do so. For example, in England, that’s quite easy because train connections are excellent, and there are plenty of bus routes. Where I lived, there were many bus options, so you could travel a lot. Doing this also makes you more independent since you have to organize everything yourself, which is a valuable experience.
My school life
I really liked the school system. It's quite different from Germany. They started school a year earlier, so even though I was in 11th grade in Germany, I was in 12th grade in England. Because I was in Sixth Form, I didn't have to wear a school uniform, and the classes were quite small. Therefore, the teachers had a different relationship with their students than in Germany. For instance, we had a tutor who would always check in with us, asking how we were doing or how our weekend had been. Sixth Form students also had a separate area where we could spend time between lessons since we often had free periods but still had to stay at school. There was also a designated art room where we could work on our projects.
There were no mandatory subjects, unlike in Germany, where you had to choose certain courses. Instead, students in England can select their subjects freely. Of course, for English students, this choice matters as it influences their university applications, but for me, it didn’t matter since I had no specific requirements from Germany. I could choose whatever I wanted, and I really liked that. There were also some subjects that didn’t exist in Germany, so I decided to try them out. I took Psychology, Photography, Geography, and Art. The Art lessons were quite independent; everyone worked on their own projects.
Hobbies and Friends
Meeting new people and making friends with the locals was a bit hard. The English students already had their friend groups, and since you had different classmates for each subject, you didn’t spend much time with the same group. I got along well with a few people; we went into town together a few times or celebrated Halloween, but nothing too close. In hindsight, I think I might have gotten along better with a different friend group, but you can’t know that at the start. Also, I only stayed for one semester, so you don't have much time to get to know everyone. I’m not close with anyone from England, but we still follow each other on Instagram and wish each other happy birthday. However, I am still friends with some exchange students, such as my host sister.
I wanted to try out new things, so I went to a hockey trial session once, but I didn’t continue with it. It wasn’t in the town where I lived but in the next town. While there were many bus connections, it was in the evening, and I had to travel there alone. It was fun to try out, though. I also wanted to keep pursuing my hobbies, even though my school did not over them. So, I went on a search for a dance studio. The first one I tried was a disappointment; it was nothing like I had expected. They were working through handbooks to prepare for some kind of exam, which wasn’t what I was looking for. I felt completely lost. Then, I found another dance studio that matched the style I was used to in Germany. Another exchange student from France joined me there, and we went together once a week. That was really fun and a great way to connect!
