A showcase of innovation at Bett 2025

The year's Bett UK was abuzz with education technology providers from around the world, with over 600 exhibiting companies and over 400 expert speakers discussing the tech-trends and solutions for the sector

Taking place 22-24 January 2025, the 40th anniversary of Bett was hosted at ExCeL London, and drew in a huge crowd of over 35,000 teachers, students, and education professionals.

Key themes of this year’s Bett included artificial intelligence, including its uses, challenges, and how education professionals could best harness it to their ability, while still leaving room for creative freedom and originality.

The challenges of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has received huge governmental and media attention as of late, and this year Bett UK took the time to delve into the need for education to ensure all children are given the space and resources to thrive – whether this be through a more flexible curriculum, specialist technologies, or different attitudes to education as a whole.

In collaboration with the British Assistive Technology Association, the brand-new SEND village reflected this shift towards accessibility in education, providing a space to showcase the most cutting-edge EdTech in the industry.

TableTalks ran throughout the event, offering peer-to-peer discussions for education professionals across a wide range of fields, such as generative AI, diversity, and preparing for the curriculum of tomorrow. With more than a thousand educators participating on over 135 roundtables, professionals from schools, governments, or universities were able to learn from other leaders and engage in friendly debate.

Meanwhile, Tech User Labs allowed teachers to book slots in tech workshops to gain the skills needed to leverage these tools in the classroom.

A digital revolution

Kicking off Bett UK 2025 was a keynote address by education secretary Bridget Phillipson MP, who outlined the government’s new plans for a digital revolution. She touched on the main themes of this year’s Bett – AI, diversity and inclusion, and innovation – and highlighted the positives of a changing digital landscape sweeping its way across the global education sector. She declared: “I take up this great new technological era to modernise our education system, to back our teachers and to deliver for our children across the country.”

Breaking down barriers to opportunity, the education secretary further announced plans that all new teachers are to be trained on how to use assistive technology to support children with SEND. She explained: “Leaders have told us that the effective use of this type of technology can have a huge impact not just on academic results but on children’s confidence in the classroom team. It’s so important we get this right for children with SEND.”

Sir Stephen Fry and Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon then took to the Arena stage for their discussion, ‘The human approach to AI’. Dr Imafidon, a computer scientist and CEO of social enterprise Stemettes, and Sir Stephen examined the role of AI in the classroom, and, refreshingly, focussed not just on its potential dangers, but also the revolution AI could bring to the next generation of students and young professionals and the opportunities it could create. Dr Imafidon’s extensive knowledge across tech, coupled with Fry’s endless curiosity and pursuit of humanity, provided an engaging, enlightening discussion for teachers and educational entrepreneurs alike.

Addressing the teacher crisis, Charles Radman, global head of education at HP, outlined how technology has the capabilities to mitigate some of the problems causing educators from leaving their positions. Baron Ed Vaizey of Didcot, former minister of state for culture and the digital economy, moderated a panel on online safety and digital resilience in a devolved nation, exploring different devolved administration practices online to encourage digital resilience for students and teachers alike.

The day closed with the Design4SDGs finals, a competition where young people showcased their big thinking by providing solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Gaols (SDGs). The second year of the competition, this year’s winners were: Old Hall Schools for SDG3, Denbigh High School for SDG4, Cheam Common Junior Academy for SDG5, Cheam Fields Primary Academy for SDG11, St Lawrence College (Junior School) for SDG12, and Cheam Common Junior Academy for SDG13.

Championing inclusion

A quick primary school singalong led by James Partridge kicked off the second day of Bett before Rose Luckin, professor at UCL and founder of Educate Ventures, took to the stage to advocate for a gentler approach to introducing AI into the classroom and how we might develop strategies to make its implementation meaningful and responsible.

Later, Nicolas Hamilton, professional racing driver and author, gave an inspiring speech about his journey to racing fame with Cerebral Palsy, addressing the importance of championing diversity and inclusivity in schools to allow the space to realise their dreams.

In a similar vein, Freddie Whittaker, deputy editor at Schools Week, moderated an insightful panel on addressing the SEND crisis, with contributions from panellists: Simon Tanner, national director of SEND at E-ACT, Claire Howard, chief executive at Natspce, and Gary Aubin, director at SENDMattersUK. Together, these industry professionals discussed how experts, advocates, policymakers, and the public can come together to spark meaningful change within SEND prevision in schools, which desperately needs an overhaul.

An exciting, interactive assembly had students and teachers alike enthralled as Zoe and Rachael from Tech she Can and Minecraft Education’s Sara Cornish gave insight into the growing gaming industry. The Global EdTech Startup Awards (GESAwards), the world’s largest EdTech competition, then hosted their finals on the Arena stage, with winners including solfeg.io for best EdTech solution, and Unlocked Labs winning the social impact award.

Technology and creativity

The third and final day of Bett started with an immersive talk by Punchdrunk Entertainment, where associate director Steve McCourt spoke about his work with immersive theatre and spoke about how Punchdrunk Entertainment are using digital methods and AI to their advantage through giving their students real-time interactions with characters and narrative.     

A session hosted by National Youth Theatre’s James Northcode, Paul Roseby OBSE, and Roberta Zuric and supported by Microsoft showed how AI is being used in developing creativity within the performing arts, as well as a session on understanding the positives and negatives of screen time for young people.

Lord Jim Knight, a former government minister and MP, hosted a panel responding to the report by Cambridge University Press and Assessment on equity within the education system. Insights were offered by an excellent selection of experts: Alice Whitby, deputy principal and teacher development lead at Oasis Learning Academy, Jane Mann, managing director at Cambridge University Press and Assessment, and Nic Ponsford, founder and CEO of Global Equality Collective. Together they explored the ways in which access and opportunities could be maximised for disadvantage students in ways that allowed every child to succeed in education and beyond.

In the afternoon, the beloved writer and professor of children’s literature Michael Rosen took to the stage with acclaimed poet, rapper, and teacher Christian Foley to deliver a session aimed at educators of primary and secondary students. The two writers showcased the benefits of poetry by using a student-led approach, interspersing speech with performance, and make the case for a new way to teach.

To close off a jam-packed three days, the twelve winners of Kids Judge Bett, created and organised by Katy Potts, computing and online safety lead at Islington council, in collaboration with British Education Suppliers Association (BESA), were announced. Now in its ninth year, Kids Judge Bett awards the best exhibitions, as selected by eagle-eyed children. See the winners here.