Back in 2014 Islington schools and families would gather at the show, to explore stands and listen to opinions of the children. At this time Dave Smith who is now at the British Educational Suppliers Association, and I were both judges at the Bett Awards, which celebrates the best innovations and technologies at Bett. We started talking about how to get even more children involved – and the idea of Kids Judge Bett was born! I pitched the idea to Bett who immediately saw the potential and helped me to grow it. 

Entering its eighth year, Kids Judge Bett awards the best exhibitor stands, as chosen by children. The winners are presented with chocolate trophies at an Awards Ceremony on the fabulous Arena stage – which to my mind is the best part of Bett!  

The show means a lot to the children – and to the exhibitors too, as Naomi Roberts, CoFounder of audio technology company Flare Audio attests. “To be judged and awarded by the children is the ultimate recognition. School environments can be noisy and distracting places. We’re so happy to have developed a solution to offer relief for children who struggle with sound, and help them manage the negative impacts of auditory overwhelm in learning environments.”  

And it continues to evolve, with pupils introducing sustainability categories this year in addition to the 10 existing categories = which include ‘Best games based literacy product’, ‘Best active learning product’ and ‘Best robotics supporting inclusion’

There are two ways to take part…

1. Schools wishing to participate in live judging at the show on Friday 26th January, and the Awards Ceremony, can apply to be part of the official judging crew. Those who meet the criteria will be invited to a phone interview, with a maximum of 60 children taking part.   Once onsite, teachers and their pupils are given a map of Bett Show highlights, which I curate over the Wednesday and Thursday of the show by talking to schools and children visiting.  After a morning exploring the exhibitor stands to select their favorite companies and products we convene over sandwiches – and the judging begins.   
2. Because we’re an inclusive show, for those who can’t or don’t want to participate this way, we also encourage students coming to the show on Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th January to nominate a company or product they think should be shortlisted by xeeting – the new term for tweeting – suggestions using the hashtag #KidsJudgeBett 

Teachers: if you want your students to take part in the in person judging, you will need to:

Have an enthusiastic group of pupils and staff able to travel to the ExCel, London on Friday 26th January 2024.  

Be able to arrive promptly for a full day of activities from 9.30am to 4.30pm.  

Be prepared to get stuck into touring the show floor within our assigned groups; helping students select winners within a set categories; keeping track of shortlisted companies and stand numbers; helping students write copy for the awards ceremony to convey why they chose each winner, helping students rehearse their lines, chaperoning your students involvement in the Awards ceremony from 3.00pm to 4.00pm, staying with your students at all times throughout the day.  

Be able to use your school X (formerly known as Twitter) account to share tweets in the run up to the event and on the day.  

Help your students prepare fun and simple #KidsJudgeBett posters to bring on the day.  

Decline accepting gifts from suppliers (no matter how tempting!) and putting aside any bias or product loyalty.   

So, if that sounds good, then please head to https://uk.bettshow.com/kids-judge-bett to apply.