AL BARSHA 2 BY SOPHIE OAKES OF GABBITAS, THE EXPERT EDUCATIONAL ADVISORS

Sophie – tell us about your family.

I am married to Nigel, who works in the Defence Industry and we have two sons, Oliver and Ferdinand aged 9 and 7. Currently, we also have four chickens, two cats, one kitten (needs a new home – anyone interested?) and two tortoises.

 You are currently living in Al Barsha – what can you recommend about the area?

We live in Al Barsha 2 near the Umm Suqeim road and we love it! The houses in Al Barsha tend to be quite generous in size and this usually includes a large garden too. Not all villas have pools but we have a small one. Al Barsha also has a lot of small sized parks that are often in walking distance. These tend by incredibly well kept and usually have great facilities. Our local one has a tennis court, small football pitch, basketball court a running track and the obligatory playground. The area is fantastic as it is so easy to get anywhere. As we are close to the Umm Suqeim road we can easily go north towards Arabian Ranches or south towards Umm Suqeim and the Sheik Zayed road. The school run is 20 minutes from our house.

You lived in Umm Suqeim and have now moved to Barsha so can you tell us the difference?

 I love Umm Suqeim and initially I was very sad to leave but the school run is much easier from Al Barsha and I experience much less traffic than I did in Umm Suqeim. The one thing I do really miss and that is the proximity to supermarkets in Umm Suqeim but particularly Aswaaq!

 You work in schools relocation and advisory services! Tell us about how that works.

I work for Gabbitas Education which is a very well established British company that helps find the right school for children here in the UAE and back in the UK. There are over 500 private schools in the UAE offering over 17 different curriculums. We can help parents navigate the often overwhelming educational landscape to find the best school for their child. We also offer an academic assessment so that parents can benchmark their child against the British system and this in turn helps them to choose the right school should they consider educating their child in the UK.

Schools are so influential to where people live so do you find location being a big factor or the quality of institution when people are picking schools?

 For those moving to the UAE we always advise picking the school first and then fit the home location into the school/work/living triangle. However, one has usually got to travel a bit to get to school here in Dubai. Interestingly, we have discovered, the older the child the further parents are prepared to drive.

 What advice would you give to someone looking to find a villa in Dubai?

 If you have children, start with the school and work out how far you would be prepared to travel every day. You need to take into consideration whether you want to live on a community or in an independent villa. But importantly, listen to Harry he will give you all the advice you need!