Finance
The cost of the eXperience gap year is covered by both the student and the church. Each student is required to pay £3300 for the whole year. From this sum, £120 per month will be returned to the student for 10 months as an allowance for food and other items. The remaining £2100 covers the costs of running the course. The lump sum can either all be paid in it’s entirety at the start of the year, or a third of the amount each term. Any travelling expense students incur connected to schools-work can be claimed back from XLP. On top of this students are required to pay towards the mission trip to Ghana. This is roughly £750, covering travel costs, visa, vaccinations and food. Support is given to all students in helping to raise this money if needed.

In addition to providing accommodation the Placement Churches are asked to donate a minimum of £100 a month to XLP towards the placement (£1000 for the year). Some churches contribute more to increase the students allowance if needed, though this is entirely at their own discretion.

Living Arrangements
Experience students will live within the borough they are assigned to, ideally near their placement church. Every church has to provide accommodation for their eXperience student , most often with a couple or a family from the church providing bed and breakfast. This has to include their own private room. The advantage of this is that the student is close to the church and plugged into the community they are working with. It is the responsibility of the church to either find free accommodation, or the money to pay for it.

Meals may be provided by the family, with the student contributing some of their monthly allowance towards food bills, or the responsibility may be with the student to pay for and cook their own food. This is left to the discretion of the church and the host family. However, we would not envisage a student contributing more then £15 per week of their monthly allowance
(see below) to the family food budget.

Though students are free (within reason) to come and go when they please, common courtesy means there may be a certain time that students are expected home agreed on between the student and those they are living with. The only exception to this would be special cases when the student may be up late for a church or XLP event.