Testimonials
“Our experience with PORTOLA has been exceptionally positive! The two founders take very personal and deeply committed care of our daughter. They are always absolutely reliable and reachable at any time (literally day and night!), and even keep accommodation in their own home available for emergencies. For us, another great advantage is that one of the founders, Aline Kamps, is a native German speaker, which of course makes communication much easier. The other founder, Laura Keighley, as an English native, is ideally suited for professional dealings with the schools. Our daughter and we feel completely well looked after and in absolutely safe hands with PORTOLA, and we therefore recommend PORTOLA to all parents without reservation and with the warmest enthusiasm – five out of five stars!”
Parents from Muenster, Germany
„From our very first conversation, we knew our daughter was in caring and loving hands.“
Our daughter is currently spending six months of the 2025/26 academic year at a boarding school in Yorkshire. Although Portola is based in London and therefore not situated nearby, we were immediately impressed by the team’ s warmth, empathy and refreshingly pragmatic manner.
From the earliest stages of preparation, our daughter felt genuinely understood, supported and in safe hands. It was a pleasure to see how her initial nervousness gradually gave way to growing anticipation and a sense of self-confidence.
Throughout the preparations, Portola offered outstanding guidance and support assisting with formalities, registration on the parents’ portal and many other organisational details.
Even now, during her stay abroad, our daughter remains in regular and trusting contact with Mrs Kamps, who’s kindness, attentiveness and steady encouragement continue to provide both comfort and confidence.
For us, the Portola Guardian Service stands for professionalism paired with genuine human warmth – a combination that we can highly recommend!
Mother from Munich, Germany
“Very caring and personal support! Before our daughter went to England, we had a video call to get to know each other, and both our daughter and we as parents immediately had a very good feeling about the care provided by Portola. In addition, they offer valuable advice on other topics as well, such as individual travel tips, if desired.”
Father from Bavaria, Germany