Topical Talk Festival FAQs

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.

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].

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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