‘The Big Bang’ feature is certainly going to be a highlight of the show, which has been put on in conjunction with the Science Association, and is designed to make science ‘fashionable’ once again for both teachers and pupils. Hopefully ‘The Big Bang’ will create a real buzz in the exhibition giving school suppliers lots of happy potential customers to talk to.

The show is expected to pull in the region of 15,000 visitors through it’s doors during its 3 day run, and has over 600 exhibitors in attendance.

Interestingly the organisers claim that on average each visitor has £3,988 to spend, accumulating to over £59m, which on the face of it is fantastic news for school suppliers that are showcasing their products and services.

What will be interesting to see is whether the show can still pull the same visitor numbers as it has in previous years, and whether schools are still in a position to spend the same sort of sums they have in the past. With many trade events this year having drops of between 15-25% in visitor numbers, the real test will be whether the guys at Emap have done enough to persuade people to make the trip to The Education Show.

February
11 & 12th  –  Northern Education Technology Show, Newcastle
11 & 12th – The Building Schools Exhibition and Conference, Manchester Central
9 – 13th – February Half Term (Scottish Schools)
16- 20th -  February Half Term

March
13 – 15th  -  ASCL Annual Conference, Birmingham
23 – 25th – Computers & Learning Conference, Brighton
26 – 28th   -  The Education Show, NEC Birmingham
27th – Education Resources Awards 2009, Birmingham

April
6 – 17th  -  Easter holidays
24 & 25  -  Early Years & Primary Teaching Show, Manchester
24 & 25th – Special Needs North, Manchester

May
1 – 3rd  -  NAHT Annual Conference, Brighton
4 – 8th -  May Half Term (Scottish schools)
25 – 29th  -  May Half Term

June
26 & 27th  -  The Childcare & Nursery Show, Olympia London
29th – Summer Holidays begin (Scottish schools)

July & August
23rd July  -  Summer Holidays begin
18th August – Autumn Term begins (Scottish schools)

September
2nd  -  Autumn Term begins
23 & 24th – Scottish Learning Festival, Glasgow

October
2 – 3rd – TES Education Show, London Olympia
12 – 23rd – October Half Term (Scottish Schools)
16 – 17th  -  Special Needs London, London
26 – 30th – October Half Term

November
12 & 13th  -  National Association of School Business Management Annual Conference, Leicester
19 – 21st  -  Design & Technology with ICT Education Show, NEC Birmingham
26 & 27th – Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Annual Conference, ICC Birmingham

December
21st  -  Christmas holidays begin