Hi, my husband has been offered a job in Dubai and I am busy looking at the school options for early 2012.  It looks like my children will end up in different schools due to their ages and it being last minute, however when I look at the school calenders many of the schools seem to have different holidays to each other.  Is this normal?

Yes it is.  For instance, some schools have already broken up for the holiday break, whilst others will break up on Monday, some Tuesday and some on Wednesday – even though they are all following the same curriculum.  Schools generally belonging to the same group, for example GEMs schools, or schools with both primary and secondary share the same holidays.

Take a look at our Schools Directory to help you in your school search