Student- can I legally drive on my US license occasionally for the first year?

I'm a postgraduate student on a Tier 4 and just arrived last month. I am applying for some volunteering positions that require me to be able to drive their car (insured by them). I marked that I was able to do this, but then got worried that my US license would not be enough. It would be occasional driving, probably once a week.

This site: http://intsupport.glam.ac.uk/driving/ makes it seem that I'm good to go for the first year I'm here, but after that i'd have to get a license here. Is this correct? Do I not need to do anything at all to start driving- just show an officer my US license if I ever need to?

Thanks!

You can drive, but I think a lot of places require a full UK license, so you would need to check that out.

Also, can someone explain to me what "community" license means in this context?

"Driving in GB as a student
If you are a student holding a community licence you may drive cars and motorcycles in GB for as long as your licence remains valid. If you don’t have a licence you must have been studying here for at least six months before taking a driving test or applying for a full licence.
If you are a student holding a non-community licence or an international driving permit you may drive here for up to 12 months.
For up to five years after becoming resident, you can apply to exchange your driving licence from a designated country for a British one.
If you don’t hold a licence, or your licence was not issued in a designated country, you’ll need to apply for a provisional licence and pass a driving test. You will be able to take a test and obtain a full licence once you have been in GB for six months."

can someone explain to me what "community" license means in this context?

A licence ("license") issued in the European Union (formerly called the European Community) or the European Economic Area.

I believe commonwealth countries are also included in the 'community' for licencing purposes, since australian and canadian licence holders can also drive until theirs run out.

As a US licence holder, you'll eventually have to go through the process of getting  a UK licence if you intend to stay (and drive) for more than 12 months.

As a US licence holder, you'll eventually have to go through the process of getting  a UK licence if you intend to stay (and drive) for more than 12 months.

But be aware that if you haven't passed all the tests and have a full UK licence by the time the 12 months is up, you will be treated like a learner driver in the UK.

This means that you will no longer be legally allowed to drive on your own - you must be accompanied at all times by someone who is over 21 and has held a full UK driving licence for at least 3 years. You will also not be allowed to drive on motorways and you will have to get a provisional UK licence and put red 'L' plates on the car.

It can potentially take several months to take and pass the UK driving tests, plus it's a good idea to take some lessons as well so you can 'learn' how to pass the test (it's very specific), so if you want to be able to drive here after the 12 months is up, I would suggest getting started on the UK licence process as soon as you can in order to have the best chance of passing the tests within the year .

I believe commonwealth countries are also included in the 'community' for licencing purposes, since australian and canadian licence holders can also drive until theirs run out.

The word "community" in that context does really mean the European Community, (now the European Union). There is no automatic right for British Commonwealth licence holders to drive in the UK. Gibraltar and 15 countries have reciprocal licencing agreements with the UK and they are: Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands*, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea*, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.

*Motorcycle entitlement from the Republic of Korea and Faroe Islands is not exchangeable.

May also need to check their insurance - they wanted a horrendous amount to put my wife on the car insurance on her US license, but next to nothing once she got a UK provisional license...