The future of classroom tech at BETT

Despite declining attendance rates at technology exhibitions in recent years, BETT has thrived.

Started in the mid 1980s, the technology-in-education show has continually attracted a healthy number of visitors, including — curiously for a term-time Wednesday — a lot of teachers.

This year's event runs until Saturday at London's Olympia and fills both floors of both the National and Grand Halls.

The 700 exhibitors include the usual big names — Microsoft, Apple, Dell and Oracle among them — plus a raft of lesser-known niche players displaying a host of innovative software.

The government has also played its part, with an opening keynote from schools minister Jim Knight, who is keen to see both open-source and proprietary software included in the school curriculum.