Topical Talk Festival

January 20th – March 7th 2025

Take part in the world's biggest news festival for young people.

What are Topical Talk Festivals?

The chance for school children to connect with peers across the world, engage with leading professionals and topic experts, and gain recognition for their school on a global stage.

Festivals are global discussions between schools and leading topic experts on the biggest news stories and issues of our time: from socio-political topics like racism and equity to sustainability and the "climate crisis". Each Festival is packed with inspiring activities, online events and awards for thoughtful conversations and ideas.

Our next Festival will take place from January 20th to March 7th 2025.

What happens during a Festival?

  • Facilitate a classroom discussion for one hour per week

    Select and teach a one-hour lesson on a different topic in the news each week. Our Topical Talk Festival resources provide everything you need to start engaging classroom discussions.

  • Encourage students to join global discussions on a safe online platform

    After each lesson, students log on to the Festival Student Hub to share their ideas and opinions with other students from all over the world. Explore the discussions from Topical Talk Festival 2024.

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    Engage with events and topic experts

    Students can ask questions to topic experts, take part in live lessons and are supported in their online discussions by volunteers from several corporate organisations.

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    Help students have their say

    In the last few weeks of the Festival, students select a topic they have discussed to create their own Standpoint. A Standpoint is an opinion piece in written, audio or video format. Standpoints are entered into the Standpoint competition.


Who is eligible for the Festival?

The Festival is suitable for students aged 10-16 with B2 or above level English and costs £349 per class of 34 students. Registration is exclusively available to schools who serve a high proportion of underserved students. If you are unsure whether your school is eligible, please email [email protected].

Hub highlights magazine showing casing Festival 2024

Check out the highlights from this year's Festival

We've selected some stand-out contributions from Topical Talk Festival 2024 to give you a taste of the fantastic discussions.

Download a digital copy

How do I sign-up?

Festival 2024 has ended. Express your interest in Topical Talk Festival 2025.

Express interest