Spending Christmas here?

Lots of our students stay in Brighton, Eastbourne or Hastings over Christmas. They might be staying to work, spend Christmas with their friends or if they’re international students, it might be that flights are too expensive.

For those who are staying, there’s plenty you can do.

You could volunteer

There are lots of shelters for homeless people in the South East and many other organisations that you could volunteer with. Take a look at opportunities here.

Not only will it give you a chance to give something back to your community, but it will be great experience for your CV and a chance to make new friends.

You could meet other students staying over Christmas

You’re not alone, lots of students decide to stay in the area during the winter break. Click here to find out about events organised for international students. Not an international student? Join this Facebook group and have a look at this page for information about events happening near you.

You could get a job

There are lots of businesses looking for Christmas temps and they’ll love that you can work all through the Christmas break and over the New Year.

Head to this page and check out the latest jobs in your area. You could also book an appointment with an advisor in the Careers Service who can help you find a job.

Visit your friends and their families

Visiting your friends could be a great way to spend Christmas and an opportunity to see other parts of the UK that you might not have seen before.

Why not stay with a family? Host UK is an organisation that pairs international students with host families. Although they’ve finished taking applicants for this Christmas, it’s something that you could look at doing during the next break as they are taking bookings for February and March. Find out more here.

See how other international students’ holidays are shaping up and how one graduatehandled living away from home during the festive season whilst she was a student.