Hay Festival Programme for Schools

Resource type: Literature Festival

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS2, KS3, KS4

Region(s): All of UK

The Hay Festival Programme for Schools offers free author events for primary and secondary schools as part of its wider Festival programming. The 2024 Programme for Schools took place place on 23rd and 24th May.

This year’s schools programme provided access to a host of acclaimed children’s authors, storytellers and poets, including: Sarah Crossan, AM Dassu, Phil Earle, Maz Evans, Matt Goodfellow, Anthony Horowitz, Jeff Kinney, MG Leonard, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Daniel Morden, Tọlá Okogwu, Manon Steffan Ros, Alex Wharton and Alex Wheatle.

Schools attended events in person or viewed them live online, with closed captioning available in Welsh and English. All events lasted for approximately 45 minutes and are still available to view on-demand on Hay Festival Anytime.

Online booking for their Programme for Schools opens in February and places are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cost: Free with registration.

About Hay Festival: Hay Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious art and literature festivals. It offers a platform for leading experts and award-winning authors to share the latest thinking, offer new perspectives, and spark conversations with curious audiences around the world.

Further resources:

Teaching materials designed to support learning before, during and after the Festival are available in Welsh and English for many of the events.
Hay Festival Anytime provides free access to over one hundred event recordings from past school programmes.
The main Hay Festival 2024 ran from Thursday 23rd May to Sunday 2nd June with a packed programme for children and young people.
For more literature festivals with dedicated schools programmes click here.