Manchester Arabic School

Manchester Arabic School is a supplementary school that was set up in late 2017 to teach Arabic to pupils of different age groups and backgrounds.

In June 2018, Manchester Arabic School held its End of Year Ceremony at the University of Manchester, co-hosted by Multilingual Manchester. We were delighted to welcome Afzal Khan MP, Shadow Immigration Minister, and Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council, who spoke of the important contribution that supplementary schools make to fostering cultural heritage and language skills.

You can listen to the full speeches by Afzal Khan MP, Councillor Luthfur Rahman and Professor Yaron Matras (Multilingual Manchester) below:

We carried out a short interview with Munira Alsusa, the headteacher of Manchester Arabic school:

1) What are the aims of Manchester Arabic School?

Munira: Manchester Arabic School was created to teach the Arabic language to those children born in Britain. To help them to have a sense of belonging and to maintain their culture and heritage.

2) What has been your experience so far since launching the new school?

Munira: It has been an amazing experience, meeting parents who are so keen to teach their young ones Arabic. Even pupils from different background who find the Arabic language interesting and just want to know more and learn to speak and read this language. Fascinating enthusiasm.

3) What are the challenges that lie ahead?

Munira: At Manchester Arabic school we are so blessed by the experienced high quality teachers we have. This makes the teaching learning process more enjoyable and fruitful. However, I have to say we have financial challenges to cover the overheads, maintain the high standards and keep the pupils interested and encourage them to keep going.

To find out more about Manchester Arabic School, visit the school’s website and Facebook page.