jane22

Hello,

me, my husband and our two young girls are currently thinking about moving to Dubai. I would like to hear from other families that have young children, who have moved out there, and could tell me how your children have settled in to school life. Are the schools within walking distance of home or is a bus journey required

MataHari

there's loads of young families here that have settled in well...schools are not that different here than in other parts of the world...
distance to the school depends on how far you live from the school, funnily enough....but schools all have busses, although the safety and quality of those is debatable...

admon

Welcome to the forum.
Have a look through many posts and threads that have gone through these issues.

In short, if you are able to live close enough to a school to walk, you would be amazingly fortunate. However, even then, the weather for half of the school year is prohibitive to walking anything more than a few hundred yards during daylight.
Most children go on the bus, or are taken by their parents.

Madam Medusa

how old are your daughters? there are waiting lists for most schools here, so you may not have a choice anyway...

MM, xx

jane22

My daughters are age 9 & 7.

How long are the waiting lists for schools in general and how soon can you get them on the list? Do you have to be living in Dubai before you can put them on a waiting list?

Blue Cat

no you can put them on now, but be warned there are not many places available.

jane22

Is there a list of schools anywhere that teach an English curriculum and also a location map? Could I put their names down for a place at all of the schools I consider suitable and wait for a positive response before moving out there?

Secondly, my children are used to me taking them to school in a morning and collecting them afterwards and I’d like to continue this trend at least until we’re more familiar with the way of life in Dubai. I wouldn’t want to put my kids on a school bus until I’m sure they’ll be safe and I also don’t relish the thought of driving on the other side of the road in an unfamiliar car and country at the moment, so schools within walking distance of accommodation would be preferable. I know that the temperatures may be prohibitive for walking to school but we’d be looking to make the move towards the end of the year when temperatures are hopefully a bit cooler.

Madam Medusa

here is a list of schools... http://www.bsme.org.uk/schools/

you need to forget about being able to walk, it is highly unlikey that you will be able to, unless you happen to get extremely lucky and get accomodation near to the school you managed to get into...i don't know anyone who walks to school in fact. Driving is fine, honest, just do it as soon as you arrive...

yep, you can put your name down on as many lists as you want, but it'll cost you, quite a significant amount for some schools and it is non refundable...

MM, xx

Blue Cat

figure out where the Office is for the hubby, then work backwards, villa, then schools near the villa or area you chose to live, feel free to ask MM and I can give you the advice you need (I think)