One of the four, Lucy van Amerongen called her sister to say that the episode had been 'quite intimidating'.
Her sister Amii said: 'Lucy called me this morning telling me that she is confined in a hotel and she is being very brave about the whole thing. '
'She said it was quite intimidating - they have these ‘guns’ that they point at your head which measure your temperature.'
Her father TV producer Victor van Amerongen, 54, who lives near Stroud, Glos., revealed that daughter Lucy, 15, could be quarantined for up to a week.
He said: ''She's with a party of girls from Cheltenham Ladies College but they met up with a lot of other schools from around the world in China.
'Fortunately her immediate party hasn't been affected by swine flu but they have been quarantined in the hotel by the authorities as a precaution.
''It's a four-star hotel with a swimming pool and Lucy and her friends are in great spirits. They are not worried unduly because they have all been tested.
''As far as I'm aware she hasn't been given Tamiflu but there is some sort of ceremony or party in the hotel tonight so they are looking forward to that.
''I spoke to her today and she thinks they will be in quarantine for a week but the situation is developing day by day so that could change.''
And four pupils from Clevedon school in Somerset have sent an email from their hotel room to say that they are being well looked after.
'We are quarantined in the hotel and are all currently well as we have daily temperature checks which are all good,' they said.
'The hotel is really nice and we have proper toilets. We hope we experience more of China as we should be out within four days.'
The students were part of a 1,000-strong group of visitors to China from across the world learning about the country's language and culture.
The trip was organised by the Confucius Institute, an official Chinese body which promotes Chinese language and culture overseas.
The members of the party with swine flu symptoms were teenage pupils from two London schools, according to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.
Three attend Central Foundation Boys School in Cowper Street, Hoxton, east London, and one goes to Parliament Hill School in Camden, north London.
The institute's director, Katharine Carruthers, told the BBC: 'They are being extremely well looked after and cared for, to the extent where they're getting pizza delivered to where they are. They are all happy and getting better.
'There are a number of children in quarantine in very comfortable conditions in a four-star hotel in Beijing, who have been in close contact with the swine flu cases.
'Everyone is in good spirits, getting involved in activities and carrying on their Chinese learning.'
Their parents have been told that the quarantine should last a week.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: 'A group of 52 children and teachers are being quarantined in their hotel, including four who have been hospitalised.
'The British Embassy in Beijing and the FCO are trying to establish contact with the organisers of the school groups visiting Beijing and their schools in the UK to ensure that full information is available to all those involved.'
More than 500 Britons were understood to be on the trip organised by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the British Council and Chinese organisation Hanban.
A spokesman for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust said it arranged for 278 children and 49 teachers from all over the UK to travel to China.
The group flew out on July 13-14 and was due to return to the UK on July 27-28.
The students were aged 14 and upwards, he added.
He said: 'It's a terrible shame for those students.
'What we are doing is making sure that the students who are able to, even if they are quarantined, are able to take part in their own cultural activities - for example by doing artwork - as much as possible.
'We are working with Hanban and the health authorities to make sure procedures are being followed.
'The students have also got direct lines into their rooms so they can contact their families.
'Every effort is being made to make sure they do not feel completely isolated but it's obviously very daunting for those students.'
The spokesman said he understood that those who were quarantined were people who had been in close contact with the four in hospital.
The FCO website states that medical screening for the swine flu virus has been introduced at several airports for passengers arriving on international flights, including in China.
'Containment measures may be introduced or changed with little or no notice,' it said.
'You may be required to undergo further tests if you show flu-like symptoms.
'Some countries have put quarantine measures in place for people travelling from affected countries, or in one case at a hotel where an infected person had been staying.
'British nationals who find themselves quarantined overseas should contact their nearest British Embassy/Consulate who will be able to offer consular assistance, though access may be limited due to the quarantine restrictions.'
In the section relating to travel advice for China, the FCO states there are confirmed cases of swine flu in the country.
It adds: 'The Chinese government continues to place great emphasis on screening and surveillance, rapid detection, quarantine and treatment.'
The process can be 'confusing and upsetting', with very little information provided in English, according to the FCO advice.
'You should be aware that if any passenger has flu-like symptoms this may lead to all passengers being quarantined for up to seven days, until health officials are satisfied all are free of the A(H1N1) virus,' it said.
'Any passenger having come into direct/indirect contact with anyone suspected of having the virus may also be quarantined.
'Levels of quarantine differ; all suspected victims are hospitalised, others are confined to hotel rooms, still others are asked to self-monitor and stay at home.'
Last month a British family was held in 'filthy' quarantine conditions after Chinese officials swooped on them over a suspected case of swine flu.
Following the 2003 SARS epidemic and then bird flu, Beijing has acted swiftly with strict measures whenever the country is threatened.
Since the arrival of H1N1 swine flu, quarantine officers have been boarding all international flights and taking passengers' temperatures.
Visitors are then scanned several times more before reaching immigration. Anyone recording a high temperature is immediately quarantined.
China has seen a total of 1,097 cases of swine flu, with one death
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