Foreign exchange trips any good or bad experiences

[mummytroubles]

I'm thinking of setting up a trip for DS via the lingoo website but have no feedback about this site. I'm looking for a very gentle introduction to exchange or paid trip so just want a week for him in a French home with another 13 year old and I'm not looking for formal lessons or hard core academic study just a bit of immersion and fun for him to enjoy being in a French setting. I did think about organising it through friends but actually decided that a pukkah website with full crb checks is probably safer than a 'friend of a friend'.

Anyone used websites and did you have a happy experience, always allowing for the normal homesickness etc.

[mystery]

Yes I know a family who used this website (Lingoo) very successfully. Two or three exchanges have now taken place for two of the children in both the English and French family. The English father went over with DD1 on the first encounter and met the family and stayed the first night as it was a short journey to Lille on the train. After that the travelling has been done independently by all the children who have exchanged so far within these two families.