Topical Talk Festival FAQs

Find answers to all the frequently asked questions about Topical Talk festivals

What are Topical Talk festivals?

Connect with classrooms all over the world, engage with leading professionals and topic experts, gain recognition for your school on a global stage.

Topical Talk festivals are seven-weeks of 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.

The festival in 2023 will take place between April 10th and May 26th.

What happens during a Topical Talk festival?

Classroom discussions: you select and teach a one hour lesson on a different topic in the news each week for the first five weeks of the Festival. Every lesson resource comes with everything you need to get a great discussion going.

Global discussions: After classroom lessons, students log on to the Festival Student Hub and share their ideas and opinions with other students from all over the world. On the Festival Student Hub, students can engage with topic experts, join unique live events, enter competitions and win awards for discussions and ideas.

Standpoints: In the last two weeks of the Festival, students will pick a topic they have discussed to create a Standpoint on. A standpoint is an opinion piece in written, audio or video form.

Common questions

Where does the festival fit within my curriculum?

Festivals are designed for flexibility and impact. Simply select the resources which best fit with the subject(s) your students will be studying during the festival period. Two teaching resources will be published in the two weeks leading up to a festival (one per week) with the other four released weekly throughout the festival period. All resources contain cross-curricular links and develop essential critical-thinking and communication skills: speaking, listening, problem-solving and creativity.

Is my school eligible?

Festivals are suitable for learners 10-14 years-old and are open to government-funded schools. Some low-fee paying schools that serve students with high needs (for example, students with special educational needs or those from low socioeconomic backgrounds) are eligible to take part.

If you are unsure about whether your school meets this criteria please contact [email protected].

How much does a festival cost?

A festival costs £299 per class of 34 students. Funding is offered to some schools. For information about funding, please contact [email protected]

When is the next festival?

Registration for Topical Talk Festival 2023 is now closed. Fill out this form to express your interest in our 2024 Festival.

Register now

The Festival clashes with a school holiday, can I still take part?

Yes, simply take part for a reduced period of time: either before you go on holiday or when you return to school.

How do I run a festival?

See below for a suggested timetable for a week-by-week breakdown of how to run a festival.

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    Pre-festival

    In class: set up Festival Hub accounts for students
    At home: students sign and return permission forms

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    Week 1

    In class: teach one of the festival resources in class (approximately 1 hour)
    At home: students log on to the Festival Student Hub at home and take part in discussions about the resource they have discussed in class

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    Week 2

    In class: teach another festival resource in class (approximately 1 hour)
    At home: students log on to the Festival Student Hub at home and take part in discussions about the resource they have discussed in class

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    Week 3

    In class: teach another festival resource in class (approximately 1 hour). Attend week 3’s live lesson
    At home: students log on to the Festival Student Hub at home and take part in discussions about the resource they have discussed in class

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    Week 4

    In class: teach another festival resource in class (approximately 1 hour)
    At home: students log on to the Festival Student Hub at home and take part in discussions about the resource they have discussed in class

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    Week 5

    In class: start preparing your students for writing or recording their Standpoints
    At home: students start to prepare their Standpoints. They can submit one per topic

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    Week 6

    In class: help students to craft their Standpoints on their chosen topic
    At home: students work on their Standpoints

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    Week 7

    In class: teach your last festival resource in class. Help students finalise their standpoints
    At home: students submit their Standpoints on the Festival Student Hub

What is the Festival Student Hub?

The Festival Student Hub is our fully-moderated online discussion platform where students log in to take part in topical discussions about their in-class learning. The Festival Student Hub is where students can enter weekly competitions, pose questions to leading topic experts and share their ideas and opinions with students from all over the world.

You can see previous discussions on the Festival Student Hub here.

What is a Standpoint?

A Standpoint is a final piece of work where students can share their informed opinion - or standpoint - on a topic or topics they have discussed in class and on the Festival Student Hub. Standpoints can be submitted in a written, audio or video format.

How do you keep students safe online?

We take safeguarding seriously and follow strict processes to keep students safe online. We require all teachers and parents to sign an agreement before students take part and we work closely with schools if students post anything that causes concern.

All student work is anonymous and no identifying information is held by The Economist Educational Foundation.

The Festival Student Hub is fully-moderated. This means that no material is posted online without one of our trained moderators seeing it first.

Read our safeguarding policy and privacy policy.

A parent is concerned about their child taking part in the festival, what should I do?

Please see our comprehensive list of parents FAQs for more information. You can also contact [email protected] with any questions.

I’ve signed up for the festival! What do I do now?

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    March 27th

    Send out parent permission forms, set up Festival Student Hub accounts for your students

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    3rd April

    Festival resource released

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    10th April

    Festival Student Hub opens!

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    10th April - 8th May

    Festival resources released weekly, students log on to engage in discussions

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    8th May

    Begin preparing Standpoints

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    19th May

    Deadline for Standpoint judging submissions

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    26th May

    End of festival, judging and awards, closure of Festival Student Hub