Jonas with his Hilderstone teacher, Dominic.
There’s something special about returning to a place that once felt like home. During the 2026 Broadstairs Folk Week Festival, we were delighted to welcome back Jonas, one of our German university students, who returned to Broadstairs for a memorable visit with his former homestay hosts and the College.
Jonas took the opportunity to reconnect with his Hilderstone teachers, catch up with familiar faces, and enjoy the lively atmosphere of Broadstairs once again. With Folk Week bringing music, dancing and celebration to the town, it was the perfect time for a return visit.
It was wonderful to see Jonas back in Broadstairs and to hear how much his time here continues to mean to him.
Jonas shared his experience with us below:
“September of 2024 is when my relationship with Hilderstone and Broadstairs first started. It was around that time that I applied for a language course in England in my scholarship program, the German “Studienstiftung”. Fortunately for me, i was accepted at the time and so my first ever visit to Hilderstone and Broadstairs in February of 2025 was set to happen! Oh, how I could not have imagined back then what kind of amazing experiences I got myself lined up from back then!
The story begins the very first time I stepped foot inside my guest family’s home: On a rainy February night, I entered the house of the guest family where I met my guest mother, guest brother, guest dad, and members of their immediate families. From the moment I stepped inside – I did not feel like a guest – I felt like I was right at home!
Alongside my host family, I was soon to be introduced to the other student living with us as well as the entire group I would be spending my days in Hilderstone (and often late nights in Broadstairs) with. A pack of intelligent, talented and hard-working minds coming from all sorts of different places of study!
With such a talented group of individuals, Hilderstone provided the perfect environment for us to channel that energy and provided us a place of learning and creativity. It’s honestly hard to stay indoors when you’re in the beautiful region of Kent with so many things to do, but the teachers at Hilderstone managed to be engaging on a level where we genuinely looked forward to returning to class each day! Teachers and staff had no issue with keeping us on the hook and we were happy to come to the school for their interesting and thought-provoking lessons and often also the optional evening-programmes.
While my language course at Hilderstone ended three weeks after my first arrival – in March of 2025 – my relationship with Hilderstone and Broadstairs did not. After my leave, i stayed in touch with my host family, who have made me feel like I was at home during my stay. To my surprise, they invited me to come back and visit them in Broadstairs this year to see folk fest! Of course I did not miss out on that opportunity and visited the gorgeous beach-side town of Broadstairs once more. I even got to come by the Hilderstone school again and say hello to all my teachers! I’m certain that if I get the chance, I will do this visit again next year!
My stay at Hilderstone did not just have a lasting impact on my life due to the improvement of my english language skills – it also fostered new connections that are here to stay!”