The annual BETT show was held in January and showcased the best in technology that is available to the education sector, highlighting some of the innovation that is helping to make educators’ lessons more engaging and lives easier.
The British Educational Training and Technology Show – better known as the BETT Show, continues to deliver to the education sector year after year, and BETT 2025 held from 22-24 January proved why it remains the premium event in the education technology space.
Held over three days, showcasing cutting-edge innovations set to shape the future of learning, the event featured more than 600 exhibitors, and was attended by some 35,000 people from the global education community.
In the Channel Media was present to cover the event and exhibited alongside Stock in the Channel, supporting more than 3,000 hardware brands that rely on the Stock in the Channel platform.
Each year, BETT has a clear underlying trend that emerges, whether it’s the rise of 3D printers, the evolution of digital panels to interactive boards or the explosion of eSports. This year there certainly were two trends coming to the fore, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), although eSports, the power of AV, digital physicality and cybersecurity still grabbed a big slice of attention.
Robotics unleashed
Robotics was presented in all manners of delivery, from Key Stage 1 to further education levels. From kits to components, and from lessons tailored for the teachers to companies delivering presentations with their digital companions, it’s an exciting time to be a child. For the cash-strapped school, in the earlier years, considering a basic magnetic block set that encourages coding and integrates thought processes about maths and robots is a good start, especially sets that can be expanded with future budgets. While there is a lot of negativities about the future of coding with the emergence of AI, the understanding of the application of coding to programming is still required.
Future fit
Digital PE was a fun and noisy watch. With the great British weather, ingenious companies have come up with a plethora of solutions to meet schoolchildren’s needs, on the premise that there is a dedicated indoor area for them to use. Solutions included sensors, projectors, mats, balls, nets, software, lights and a lot of adrenaline and perspiration.
AI impact
AI permeated every corner of the two exhibition halls and were on the lips of almost all guest speakers, including Secretary for Education and Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson MP, and celebrities like Stephen Fry.
Stephen pondered redefining the skills our children need for the future world of work, while Bridget was positive that the administrative burden for teachers would be reduced by using AI and other technologies. The Education Secretary felt that AI tools were expected to decrease the time teachers spend on tasks such as marking, planning and form filling, thus allowing them to focus more on teaching and delivering change for children, thereby addressing the recruitment and retention crisis in teaching by making the profession less stressful and more fulfilling.
The software companies were singing the praises of AI, offering AI lessons, AI-integrations, AI-enhancements, AI payment plans and more. The laptop brands that have brought AI-enabled PCs to the market include HP, Lenovo and ASUS.
Robust and modular
ASUS came with a clear message: that their robust laptops are designed with modular components to extend device longevity, and the company used the opportunity to launch its latest education-focused laptops, the BR and CR series, each series encompassing four models.
The ASUS BR series and CR series are designed specifically for the needs of students from ages five to 18, educators and IT administrators and combine upgraded performance with new Intel processors, rugged durability and innovative features like Microsoft Copilot, and a design to match even the most demanding student lifestyle. BR-series convertible models (BR1204FTA and BR1104FTA) feature 360° hinges and optional stylus support, allowing seamless transitions between laptop and tablet modes, ideal for creative projects and collaboration.
Students will put any laptop through its paces, and the ASUS BR series laptops are built to withstand active classroom environments with features such as rugged rubber bumpers and spill-resistant keyboards.
ASUS CR series Chromebooks are available in 180° lay-flat and 360° convertible models and are powered by the Intel® Processor N250 with a 1080p FHD front-facing webcam and a 13MP world-facing camera and TÜV-certified low blue-light displays.
ASUS BR and CR Series have been tested by simulating real-world accidents and optional features include Corning® Gorilla® Glass on touchscreen models and ASUS Antimicrobial Guard technology. ASUS has put some thoughtful features into the BR and CR Series and one delight is the anti-drop captive screws, ensuring that small parts remain securely in place during repairs, preventing misplacement and simplifying maintenance.
Ultra AI smart
Another delight to see at BETT were the new Lenovo ThinkPads. Lenovo has a whole year of innovation planned for 2025 and worth a lift was the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition, currently the world’s lightest business Ultrabook, weighing in at 986g. This business notebook is ultra-thin, at just 14.37mm, and is AI-ready thanks to its powerful Intel processor and a battery life designed to last up to 18 hours.
Lenovo Aura Edition laptops integrate various smart modes, one of them worth noting in the education sector is Smart Share. Smart Share is particularly handy for teachers as it provides smooth AI-enabled picture sharing between smartphones and laptops. Users can simply tap a supported smartphone on the screen edge and leveraging the capability of Elliptic Labs AI Virtual Sensor, the laptop will launch the Smart Share window on the PC and smartphone, enabling simple drag and drop transfer of recent photos between devices. IOS and Android platforms are supported. Happy teachers almost always equate to happy pupils.
Another highlight was Lenovo’s expanded partnership with IGEL and its advancements in device security and management. Lenovo’s collaboration with IGEL OS has led to the seamless integration of IGEL’s Preventative Security Model across ThinkPad L14 Gen 4, ThinkCentre Neo50q, and M75q tiny desktop devices. This initiative significantly improves security and simplifies IT management for schools worldwide.
The IGEL OS can be deployed on any device, enhancing security and extending hardware longevity, and has a pre-integrated security and policy-driven management reduce the complexity of endpoint protection. IGEL OS optimises Lenovo devices for SaaS, DaaS and VDI applications, improving remote learning capabilities.
With cybersecurity becoming a growing concern in education, Lenovo’s commitment to integrating IGEL OS ensures that educational institutions can protect student data, maintain compliance and streamline IT operations without significant overhead costs.
Purposeful
HP’s colourful stand stood out, thoughtfully demarcating workstations, printers, AI PCs, sustainability and more. This helps buyers to consider when they are making decisions about budgets and devices.
HP’s Brighter Futures initiative continues to offer schools and colleges the chance to maximise their budgets by investing in new HP educational devices while gaining up to £150 when they trade-in their old devices. To date HP has collected and re-used or recycled more than 67,000 devices and provided some £7.8 million of support to schools in the UK.
Continuing to define educational innovation
BETT 2025 once again reinforced its status as the leading educational technology event. Looking ahead, the education sector is evolving rapidly alongside the evolution of the technology available and BETT remains at the heart of this transformation, showcasing the best the technology sector has to offer.
BETT 2026 will be held from 21-23 January 2026.
Videos from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of BETT 2025 can be viewed here.
