Every summer term BLF’s Education Programme offers a week of eye-opening talks, workshops, and interactive experiences. These events promote curiosity and support developing students into well-rounded and open-minded individuals. Each student ticket is worth £25, but BLF is pleased to offer attendance for free to non-fee-paying schools.
Our Education Programme is bigger and better than ever, offering an opportunity for students to engage with amazing, life-changing literature in all forms from poetry to big ideas. Our 2027 Secondary programme will run from 11 to 18 June 2027. The themes are Rebels & Rulebreakers, The World We Live In, Gothic, Monsters & Dystopia, Manga, Anime & Visual Storytelling, Performance Poetry and Shaking Up Shakespeare.
Book now: Education Programme 2027Book on to our 2027 Programme
Rebels & Rulebreakers
Friday 11 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 English Literature, English Language and History
What does it take to challenge something you believe is wrong, and what can it cost to refuse to accept the world as it is?
In Jane Eyre, students will debate the choices Jane makes as she refuses the life Victorian society expects of her, before considering why Charlotte Brontë chose to create a heroine so determined to decide her own future. They’ll go behind the familiar story of Nelson Mandela and apartheid to the gruelling 27 years he spent in prison, exploring how he held on to his political purpose through confinement. They’ll also meet Noor Inayat Khan, who became a secret wireless operator in occupied France during the Second World War, transmitting messages while hunted by the Gestapo, and discover how her remarkable story was almost forgotten before being brought back into the public eye years later. Finally, students will discover how poetry has been used to challenge injustice, before turning their own ideas into words of resistance.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
The World We Live In
Monday 14 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 Citizenship, History and Media
How do we make sense of a world where news, ideas and information can reach us in seconds? Students will explore how broadcasting transformed the way people experienced events beyond their own communities, and how new technologies and algorithms continue to shape what we see today. They’ll also look at how borders and disputes over territory have shaped major world events, from the Partition of India and Pakistan to conflicts involving Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Palestine.
Students will then explore who tells these stories and how. They’ll hear from a correspondent about reporting major events around the world and consider how a journalist’s choices can influence the story we receive. Finally, they’ll discover how George Orwell’s 1984 gave us words and ideas that have travelled far beyond the novel, asking why terms such as Big Brother, Newspeak and ‘Orwellian’ still help us talk about power, information and the world around us today.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Gothic, Monsters & Dystopia
Tuesday 15 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 English Literature and English Language
Why do the things that frighten us change over time? Through Dracula and Frankenstein, students will explore how Gothic writers turned the fears of their own times into fiction, and why these stories continue to be reimagined by new generations.
Students will investigate how Dracula has changed across 130 years and put Frankenstein on trial, weighing the evidence to decide who bears responsibility for what happens in the novel. They’ll then move from Gothic into dystopian fiction, exploring how fear can come from surveillance, technology or society itself, before taking control of a new society and making decisions about how it should work. As the consequences of their choices unfold, they must decide whether they have created a safer world or a dystopia of their own.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Manga, Anime & Visual Storytelling
Wednesday 16 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 English Literature, English Language and Art
From manga pages to anime screens, Japanese visual storytelling has captured audiences around the world. Students will discover where manga and anime came from, what the terms actually mean and just how varied these forms can be, testing their own assumptions as they decide what is and isn’t manga or anime.
They’ll enter the worlds of Studio Ghibli to uncover some of the Japanese culture and storytelling traditions behind its films, before getting inside a manga or graphic novel to investigate how pictures and panels shape what we notice, how quickly we read and what we imagine between the images. Finally, guided by a manga artist, students will explore how expression, pose and appearance can reveal character, using these techniques to create an original character of their own.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Performance Poetry
Thursday 17 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 English Literature, English Language and Spoken Language
What happens when a poem leaves the page and is performed aloud? Students will experience William Blake transformed through rap, spoken word and beatboxing, discovering how a contemporary performance can change the way we hear poetry written more than two centuries ago. They’ll also hear sharply different accounts of war, from poetry that presents conflict as glorious to writing that confronts its human cost, and discover how differently poets have written about the same experience.
Students will then put their own ideas into words. In a mass poetry workshop, they’ll write about something they feel strongly about and hear lines from across the auditorium build into a call and response performance. They’ll also draw on their own places, cultures and languages to write about what home means to them, with contributions from across the room brought together in a final performance.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Shaking Up Shakespeare
Thursday 18 June
Key Stage 3 and 4 English Literature, English Language and Drama
How much of Shakespeare is actually there on the page, and how much is created in performance? Students will see the same scene played in strikingly different ways, discovering how an actor’s delivery or a director’s decisions can change what an audience sees in a character. They’ll then take control themselves, deciding how particular moments should be performed.
Students will go behind the scenes of Shakespeare’s theatre to discover how his company created everything from thunderstorms to ghostly appearances without modern technology, before making staging decisions of their own. They’ll also explore how the sonnet has survived and changed across centuries and contribute to a new sonnet together, before turning to Macbeth to debate whether the witches seal his fate or Macbeth brings about his own downfall.
Venue: St George’s Hall, Bradford.
Time: 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Additional Information
Cancellation Policy and Incurred Fees
We are pleased to offer our events free of charge to non-fee-paying schools and home educators across the North. However, organising these events incurs significant costs. If you need to amend or cancel your booking, please inform us as early as possible.
Cancellations can be made up to 2 months after your booking, up until 26 February 2027. After this date, all cancellations will incur a charge of £10 per pupil per event. Please note, each student ticket is worth £25, but BLF will reduce this to £10 per ticket for cancellations. We understand that exceptional circumstances may arise and are happy to work with you to find a suitable solution.
Event Locations and Transport
Key Stage 3 & 4 (Secondary) events will take place at St. George’s Hall, Bradford.
Please note, schools are responsible for arranging their own transport. Please confirm transport arrangements and availability before booking your places.
Event Schedule
Themed days run from 10:00 to 14:15, with arrival from 09:30. Each day includes four 45-minute sessions, with short breaks in between and a 45-minute lunch break.
Booking Information
You may bring as many students as you’d like, whether it’s a class or an entire year group. You can also bring students on multiple days. By booking, you are committing to a full event day (four sessions), from 10:00 – 14:15. To avoid wasted spaces, we ask that you only book tickets you are confident will be used.
Tickets are required for all attendees (students and staff). A Lead Teacher ticket is needed for each booking, which includes your school’s details. Additional staff should be booked using Additional Staff tickets.
No tickets or QR codes are needed on the day. At registration, simply provide your school name and event details to check in.
To ensure a smooth booking process, please obtain senior leadership approval and confirm transport arrangements before making your reservation. This helps avoid late cancellations due to unavailable transport, unexpected costs, or staffing issues. By taking these steps in advance, you can help us prevent administrative challenges and reduce wasted tickets. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Visitor Pack
After your booking is confirmed, we will send a visitor pack with practical details, including parking and risk assessment information. A detailed itinerary, including the day’s events and participating artists, will be sent closer to the event date.
Lunch Arrangements
Students should bring a packed lunch, as no food is available for purchase on-site. Lunch breaks will be held in outdoor spaces near the venue. In case of severe weather, alternative arrangements will be made.
An event I want to book is sold out – can I join a waiting list?
Yes, if an event is sold out you will see the option to join a waiting list. For our Secondary Key Stage 3 & 4 events, if we receive a cancellation suitable for the size of your school group we will be in touch to confirm your booking. Adding your details to the waiting list gives our team an estimate of interest levels.
First Aid Provision
A first aider will be available at all event sites throughout the day.
Photography and Videography
We request that all parents and guardians are informed that photographs and video will be taken.
If parents/guardians do not wish for their child to be photographed or recorded then these students will be identified with a yellow lanyard – this enables our team to ensure that they are excluded from event recordings.
These will be provided by Bradford Literature Festival, and school staff are responsible for distributing these lanyards and ensuring they are visible at all times.
Access Requirements and Seating Information
If any of your students have specific access needs (e.g., sensory processing, physical accommodations, visual or hearing support), please let us know in advance so we can provide appropriate resources. To discuss access needs, contact us at [email protected].
Seating is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with school groups seated together. If a student needs a break, quiet spaces are available. Students may take time out as needed, but must be supervised by a staff member.
Join the BLF Education Programme
Join the Bradford Literature Festival Education Programme to receive priority booking for our amazing events, access to our Digital Education Programme, and access to free tickets for educators..
Join the Education Programme
The National Year of Reading 2026 is a UK-wide campaign designed to help more people rediscover the joy of reading.
Reading expands minds, builds confidence and fuels creativity. Yet with more distractions and less time, reading for pleasure is in decline across many groups. The National Year of Reading 2026 is here to change that, by reconnecting reading with everyday culture.
Learn moreJoin Our Mailing List
By submitting this form you agree to our Privacy Policy and to receive marketing emails, including e-newsletters and event updates from Bradford Literature Festival.