Festival of Play 2026 - Belfast

The Festival of Play returns, brought to you by Digital Schoolhouse and Electronic Arts. Immerse your students in a day of interactive workshops, industry-led talks, and hands-on gaming as we dive deep into the technology and creativity driving the UK video games industry.

Target audience: Students in Years 5-9 and their teachers.

Cost: Free (via a refundable deposit). Lunch and refreshments included.

What is the Festival of Play?

These events, free to schools thanks to support from Electronic Arts, will provide young learners with invaluable insights into the world of video game development. Students will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about the technology behind video games.

• Meet and hear from industry professionals.

• Explore how their interests align with exciting STEAM careers.

• Gain hands-on experience with creative tools and technologies.

For Teachers (CPD Opportunity):

• Gain innovative methods to bring the computing curriculum to life.
• Explore real-world applications of computer science to share with your classes.

Proven success:

Previous Festivals of Play have demonstrated a significant impact:

• 90% of Teachers said they had learnt more about Computing and its application within Video Games.
• 80% of Teachers said the event had positively impacted their teaching.
• 56% of Students expressed interest in pursuing a career in video games.

The Festival of Play is also coming to London, Rhos-on-Sea, Dundee and Liverpool. You can find links for those festivals

Festival of Play is free to attend; however, schools are required to pay a refundable deposit upon registration. See Deposit Terms and Conditions below for further details. Each school receives a unique workshop schedule tailored to your students’ Key Stage, plus lunch and refreshments are provided.

Tickets are limited, so we ask that each school books for one group of up to 30 students. Please book only for the number of students you are planning to bring. If you need to cancel your booking, you must do so at least 8 weeks in advance of the event to be able to claim back your deposit.

Deposit Terms and Conditions

• All schools are required to pay a fully refundable commitment deposit of £50.00 upon registration.

• This refundable deposit can be claimed back in full if your school attends the Festival of Play 2026, OR you cancel your booking at least 8 weeks in advance of the event.

• The deposit charge is applied to the ‘Staff member (main contact)’ ticket, which must be selected with each booking. Only one can be selected per booking, so you will not be overcharged.

• Further staff members can be added to your booking with the ‘Staff member (additional)’ ticket. This will not increase your deposit charge. You can book for up to 1 staff member per 5 students in your booking. If you require additional staff members, please email [email protected].

• The refundable deposit must be claimed back by schools before 17:00 BST on Friday 7 August 2026. If a school does not claim back the refundable deposit before the deadline of 17:00 BST on Friday 7 August 2026, they are no longer eligible to claim back their deposit. Unclaimed deposits will go back into the Festival of Play, enabling Digital Schoolhouse to continue to provide STEAM careers education to students.

• These Deposit Terms and Conditions supersede Eventbrite's own Refund Policy of 30 days before the event.

About Digital Schoolhouse

is a not-for-profit transforming Computing education through play. It is powered by Ukie, the trade body for the UK games and interactive entertainment industry, together with Nintendo. Our partners include the University of Westminster, Avantis Education and Adobe Express for Education.

If you have any questions about the Festival of Play, please contact Digital Schoolhouse on [email protected].

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