by Jane Brownie

Host Families

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We have many host families ready to welcome international students to Hokitika and several who are very experienced hosts. We take great care when selecting these wonderful people who take students into their homes.


Host families come in all shapes and sizes and all are special in that they are ready to welcome a young person into their home to be part of their family

All international students enrolled at Westland High School are provided with local homestay accommodation.

Your homestay family will: 

*  provide a safe home environment, a bedroom with a desk, meals and laundry. All members of the host family over the age of 18 years are police vetted.  The International Director interviews all families in their own homes and assesses their suitability. Families are visited regularly.

*  be matched with the information on your application form, so please tell us as much about you and your life as possible. We want to know all about your own family, your interests, what you’d like to achieve while you are in New Zealand and what is important to you in your New Zealand host family 

* expect you to be one of the family and help around the house.

* teach you about the New Zealand way of life and maybe get you helping on the farm.

We will send you a profile of your New Zealand host family a few weeks before you arrive in New Zealand. The profile will give you contact details,  personal information and photos of the family, house and bedroom. We encourage our students and their families to connect with and get to know their New Zealand host families in the weeks before their arrival as this makes for an easier transition into NZ life.