Working closely with colleagues across Government, educational institutions and other partners, we endeavour to make visa and entry arrangements more user-friendly for international students. We also aim to make their stay in the UK a positive experience.

Support for UK institutions

Pre-departure briefings - details of forthcoming briefings organised by the British Council for students coming to the UK to study.

Cultural connections - order form (333KB) - this essential guide to cultural awareness, based on the British Council's earlier booklet, Feeling at home, is for those who want to make the most of the international student experience and help students do the same. Latest issue: Fourth Edition published June 2007.

Comfort zone - order form (178KB) - this guide, which replaces Safety first, is designed to help international students prepare for their stay in the UK and gives practical advice about living and studying in the UK. It highlights some of the safety and security issues international students need to be aware of and lists organisations to contact if they do need help.

Creating confidence (2MB) - this international student safety survey, conducted by the British Council, is a major attempt to assess student experiences and premises about safety issues in the United Kingdom.

Beacon Award for International Student Support (113KB) - the British Council supports, jointly with the Association of Colleges (AOC), the Beacon Award for International Student Support. The award has been funded for eleven years and recognises best practice in supporting international students from recruitment through to completion of qualifications. It is awarded to Further Education colleges which have developed and maintained consistent and caring procedures in the support of students studying in the UK.

Previous winners include:

• 2008/2009: Stevenson College, Edinburgh
• 2007/2008: Bridgwater College
• 2006/2007: Boston College
• 2005/2006: Sussex Downs College
• 2004/2005: The Bournemouth and Poole College
• 2003/2004: Broxtowe College
• 2002/2003: John Leggott College
• 2001/2002: Pembrokeshire College
• 2000/2001: Dudley College
• 1999/2000: Chichester College
• 1998/1999: Broxtowe College

The deadline for applications for the 2009/2010 Award is 22 July 2009.

Support for entry clearance officers
Information sheet (395KB) - explains the wide range of UK education options open to international students.

Support for international students
The following information sheets are for students and therefore located on the Education UK website.

			Find your way to work
			First steps - a pre-departure guide for international students coming to the UK
			Comfort zone - making sure that your time in the UK is safe and enjoyable (this publication replaces Safety first)
			Sources of funding for international students - information about applying for scholarships

Please note that the First steps - preparing for entry clearance and Studying and living in the United Kingdom information sheets are not available any more as they are no longer being published.

Printed copies of Find your way to work can be obtained, free-of-charge, from DCSF Publications by contacting them and quoting the reference number 00338-2008LEF-EN:

PO Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ United Kingdom E-mail dcsf@prolog.uk.com Telephone +44 (0)845 6022260 Fax +44 (0)845 6033360

Printed copies of other publications are available by contacting Stephanie Ashcroft.

Additional strategies
We are also working with UKvisas and the Home Office to create mutual links between our websites, to ensure that students get all the information they need to make their applications for entry clearance and prepare for their stay.