Arabic Classes for Kids in the UK
Most Quran academies treat Arabic as an afterthought. We do not. A child who can recite the Quran beautifully but has no idea what the words mean has been half taught.
These lessons are built for British children who speak English at home and are not learning Arabic anywhere else. We start where your child actually is, not where a curriculum written for native speakers assumes they are.
We are onboarding our first teachers now. Register your interest and we will contact you before we open to the public.
The Arabic alphabet
Letters, their shapes at the start, middle and end of a word, and the short and long vowels. For children aged 4 to 7 this is done through games, repetition and short bursts rather than worksheets.
Reading and writing
Once the letters are secure, your child learns to read unfamiliar words without guessing, and to write legibly. This is the stage most children skip, and it is the reason many can recite but cannot read.
Quranic Arabic
The vocabulary and grammar that actually appear in the Quran, taught through verses your child already knows. Understanding what Surah Al-Fatihah means changes how a child prays.
Conversational Arabic
For families who want their child to speak with grandparents, or who are planning to travel. Everyday spoken Arabic, taught through conversation rather than grammar tables.
Arabic for non-native speakers
Our default approach. We do not assume any Arabic at home. Explanations are in English, instructions are in English, and Arabic is introduced gradually until your child is ready for more.
Every year a large number of British Muslim children finish Qaida, learn to recite fluently, and stop. They can read the Quran aloud without understanding a single sentence of it. That is not a failure of the child - it is a failure of how Arabic is taught alongside the Quran.
It makes the Quran make sense
A child who recognises even two hundred Quranic words starts hearing meaning instead of sound. Recitation stops being a chore and starts being something they follow.
It is easier at seven than at seventeen
Children absorb the sounds of a language far more easily before adolescence. A seven-year-old who learns the Arabic letters properly will never have to unlearn a bad habit later.
It connects them to family
For many British Muslim families, Arabic is the language of a grandparent. Children who can hold a short conversation with their grandmother keep something that is otherwise lost within one generation.
Rules our teachers must follow
These are conditions of teaching with us. A teacher who breaks any of them stops teaching with us that day.
- The teacher’s camera stays on for the whole lesson. There are no exceptions.
- A teacher will never ask to be alone with your child, and will never ask a parent to leave the room.
- Teachers do not give out or ask for phone numbers, email addresses or social media accounts.
- Lesson times, changes and cancellations are arranged with the academy, never privately between a teacher and a child.
You can join any lesson, any time
No notice needed, no reason needed. If you would prefer lessons to happen in a shared family room rather than a bedroom, we would encourage that - but it is your home and your decision.
Qualified, named teachers
Our teachers are graduates of Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Every teacher has a full profile on this site with their real name and photograph. No stock photographs, no first names only.
What we do not currently offer
Our teachers are based in Egypt, which means a UK Enhanced DBS check is not available to them. A DBS check searches UK police records only, so for someone who has never lived in the UK it would return nothing meaningful even if it could be obtained. If another academy tells you their overseas teachers are DBS checked, that claim is worth questioning.
My child speaks no Arabic at all. Where do they start?
With the letters. That is where the overwhelming majority of our students start, and there is nothing unusual about it. Our teachers explain in English and do not assume anything is spoken at home.
Is this the same Arabic they would learn at school?
The alphabet and grammar are the same. The emphasis differs: school Arabic tends towards exam skills, ours towards reading the Quran with understanding and speaking with family. Children doing both find they reinforce each other.
How is this different from madrasah?
Most local madrasahs focus on recitation and memorisation, with limited time for the meaning of the words. That is not a criticism - it is a matter of hours available in a group class. One to one lessons make room for Arabic properly.
At what age should we start Arabic?
Five to seven is ideal for the alphabet. Older children learn faster in some ways because they can read English fluently and transfer the skill. There is no age at which it becomes too late.
How long before my child can read Arabic?
With two lessons a week and short daily practice, most children read simple words within three months and unfamiliar words within a year. Practice between lessons makes more difference than anything else.
Can my child learn Arabic and Quran together?
Yes, and we would recommend it. Many families split the week - Quran in some lessons, Arabic in others - so progress happens in both without either being rushed.
Registering costs nothing and commits you to nothing. When we open, you will get first choice of lesson times - and after-school slots fill quickly.
Most families combine subjects across the week rather than choosing one.
- Online Quran classes for kids - Noorani Qaida, Tajweed and memorisation, one to one and after school.
- Islamic studies for kids - salah, daily duas, Seerah and everyday fiqh for British Muslim children.
- How to teach Arabic to a child who only speaks English
- The 300 words that unlock most of the Quran
- Teaching the Arabic alphabet to a 4-year-old
- Should my child learn Arabic or just recite?
- Why reading Arabic without harakat matters
- Modern Standard Arabic or dialect?
- Can my child learn Arabic if I do not speak it?
- Arabic handwriting: why it still matters