Homesickness
Everyone enjoys the excitement of starting at The Worthgate School, but as time goes by, you may start to miss home. This is normal, and there are simple things you can do to help yourself adjust to school life.
We recommend:
- Taking part in activities organised by the school to make friends with other students.
- Staying in touch with home via email or telephone. Most of our students have contact with their families at least once a week. It might be helpful to fix a time to talk with your family every week, taking into account the time difference with the UK.
- Bringing photographs or items from home to decorate your room.
- Most importantly of all, though, it’s really important to talk about how you’re feeling. Your Personal Tutor, House Parent or the Welfare team will always be happy to listen and offer advice.
- Remember, almost everyone feels homesick at some stage but help will always be close at hand.
Healthcare
If you feel unwell you will need to go and see the school nurse.
The college school nurse will:
- See you if you are feeling unwell or have a minor injury
- Advise on healthcare and wellbeing concerns
- Advise if you need to see a doctor
- Authorise absence from class if you a too unwell to attend lessons
Medication
If you bring any medication into the UK, also carry a letter (translated into English) from your doctor explaining what the medicine is, and what it is for. Similarly, if you are undergoing any long-term medical treatment, you should also bring a letter from your doctor, counsellor, or hospital specialist. This letter can be shown to a relevant UK specialist if further treatment is needed.
Email medical@worthgateschool.com before leaving to establish whether the medication you are taking is licensed for use in the UK, and to inform the school of any medical conditions. Students may also arrange to speak to the school nurse directly. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, we also recommend that you bring a copy of your prescription.
UK medical services include:
- Consulting a GP (doctor)
- Most other GP services, such as visiting a clinic for a Non-emergency treatment in a hospital.
Even if you qualify for these free NHS services, you may still wish to take out private medical insurance. Sometimes it can take several days to get an appointment with an NHS GP, and there are long waiting lists for non-emergency NHS services. Some students will require insurance for certain medical services.
Under the National Health Service (NHS), all students are entitled to free emergency hospital treatment in an Accident & Emergency department.
You do not need medical insurance for emergency care. The NHS also provides a full range of free, non-urgent healthcare services, but these services are only available to some students, depending on the terms of your visa. Private medical insurance could give you much quicker access to treatment if you need it.
If you come to the UK on a Student or Child Student Visa, the cost of free NHS healthcare will be included in the cost of your visa application.
This is called the ‘Immigration Health Surcharge’, and it gives you free access to the full range of free services provided by the NHS.
Certain healthcare costs are not covered by the NHS. All students will have to pay for these at the point of delivery.
These include:
- The prescription charge. Although the medicines themselves are free, each prescription is charged at £9.65 per item
- Certain GP services such as travel vaccinations
- Dental Treatment
Please note: The £9.65 prescription charge is only for NHS patients – this includes you if you become an NHS patient under the terms of your Student Visa. Prescription charges for private patients are considerably more.
A Standard Visitor Visa does not entitle you to free healthcare on the NHS. This means that you will need private medical insurance.
If you do not have private medical insurance, and you require non-urgent healthcare, you will be required to pay at the point of service. This can be extremely expensive, so it is very important to arrange your insurance before coming to the UK.
You should ensure that this insurance covers all additional costs that might result from illness, such as a flight home.
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