Festival of Play 2025 - Belfast

Festival of Play, the exciting creative careers and computing conference brought to you by Digital Schoolhouse in association with Electronic Arts, returns this summer with a jam-packed schedule of interactive workshops, inspiring talks, and innovative games. This fun-filled event showcases the diverse range of careers available in the video games industry to school students in P6 - Year 10.

The Festival of Play is not only for students. It offers valuable professional development for teachers, equipping you with engaging and innovative methods to bring computing lessons to life in the classroom.

These events 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.

Book your tickets for the Festival of Play at Stranmillis University College

Register here on Eventbrite to join us at Stranmillis University College on Tuesday 17 June 2025.

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.

The Festival of Play is also coming to Dundee and London!

To register for the Festival of Play at Abertay University on Tuesday 10 June 2025, please click here.
To register for the Festival of Play at the University of Westminster on Tuesday 1 July 2025, please click here.

Agenda

09:30 Arrival and registration

10:00 Welcome and keynote

10:40 Workshops and activities

12:20 Lunch break

13:20 Workshops and activities

15:00 Event close

Times are subject to change. You will receive a unique workshop schedule nearer the event.

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 2025, 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 contact Siân on sian@ukie.org.uk.
• The refundable deposit must be claimed back by schools before 17:00 BST on Friday 1 August 2025. If a school does not claim back the refundable deposit before the deadline of 17:00 BST on Friday 1 August 2025, 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 supercede Eventbrite's own Refund Policy of 30 days before the event.

About Digital Schoolhouse

Digital Schoolhouse together with Nintendo UK, uses play-based learning to engage the next generation of pupils and teachers with the Computing curriculum. Digital Schoolhouse is delivered by the UK games industry trade body Ukie and is backed by the video games industry and government. Our partners include Electronic Arts, SEGA, Ubisoft and Xbox.

If you have any questions about the Festival of Play, please contact Siân on sian@ukie.org.uk.