Q We are moving to Dubai at the end of August from the UK and have 2 children (aged 7 & 9) starting at one of the British schools but I am a bit worried that the 9 year old will be really far behind in Arabic as he obviously has not studied this subject before. Do you know of any places that can give extra Arabic tuition?

A I wouldn’t worry too much about this as the schools are very used to new arrivals who have never studied Arabic before and in fact the Arabic in these schools moves at a very slow pace. But if you would like to get him a few extra lessons you could contact The Arabic Language Centre or Eton Language Institute that do classes specifically tailored towards children.  Before you leave the UK you could order Usborne First Thousand Words in Arabic isbn no 9780746046517. It is actually quite a useful book to have in the house!