Thank you to every school, teacher, student and partner who took part in AI Awareness Day 2026. Together we engaged hundreds of thousands of young people across the UK and beyond through classroom resources, live AI assemblies, school display boards and much more.
Now we’re looking ahead to 2027, with a new date, a new theme and more ways than ever for schools to take part.
A new date: Thursday 29 April 2027
We listened to your feedback. Teachers told us through our survey that June was too exam-heavy for whole-school participation, so AI Awareness Day 2027 moves earlier, to Thursday 29 April 2027.
The day itself is still for the whole school, with activities, assemblies and resources for every year group. What’s new is the build-up. From 1 January 2027, schools can join the National Conversation, giving students from January to April to explore, question and debate AI. By 29 April, they’ll arrive ready to share what they think.
A new theme: Humans in the Loop
Our 2026 message, “Know it, Question it, Use it Wisely,” remains at the heart of the campaign. For 2027, we’re building on it with a new theme: Humans in the Loop.
The idea is simple. Young people shouldn’t be passive recipients of information about AI. They should be able to question it, debate it, challenge one another, change their minds and have their voices heard.
The National Conversation is built around five themes, each with age-appropriate questions for students to tackle:
- Safe: Should AI remember everything you tell it?
- Smart: Should students be allowed to use AI in assessed work?
- Creative: If you make something with AI, is it still your work?
- Responsible: Who should be responsible when AI gets something wrong?
- Future: How should AI change what young people learn for future jobs?
Every student’s journey: learn, think, discuss, rebut, reflect
Whichever way a school takes part, every student follows the same journey:
Learn → Think → Discuss → Rebut → Reflect
Students start by building their knowledge, form their own views, test them against others’ and finish by reflecting on what they think now.
The skills we want young people to build in the age of AI
- Oracy & Communication: developing fluent spoken language, confidence and the ability to articulate complex ideas.
- Public Speaking: being articulate and exploring technical concepts in front of an audience.
- Critical Thinking: evaluating arguments logically and spotting cognitive biases.
- Conflict Resolution: learning how to resolve conflict in pressured situations.
Explore the National Conversation
Who takes part: primary, secondary and post-16
- Primary (Years 5–6): short, accessible debates with age-appropriate questions.
- Secondary (Years 7–11): structured debate, evidence and rebuttal.
- Post-16 (Years 12–13 / FE): deeper policy, ethics and technical arguments.
More ways to engage: choose the level that suits your school
Not every school has the capacity to organise a formal inter-school debate, so participation isn’t all-or-nothing. Choose the level that suits you:
- Classroom Conversation: the easiest entry point. A teacher picks one of the five themes, uses a 5-minute starter and runs a class discussion or debate. Students can also contribute to our national survey, adding their voices to the picture of what their generation thinks about AI.
- School Debate: class vs class, house vs house or year group vs year group.
- MAT Debate: connect schools across your trust for internal debates or competitions.
- National Debate Network: our flagship experience. Debate schools beyond your own and become part of the wider National Conversation, judged by professionals and community leaders using our national scorecard.
Bring in a judge. For school, trust or inter-school debates, schools can invite a headteacher, governor, school partner, community leader or tech professional to judge. It brings the wider school community into the conversation and, importantly, gives adults the chance to listen to what young people think about AI. We’ll provide a simple structure covering age-appropriate questions, judging guidance, respectful debate and safeguarding. Schools follow their normal safeguarding and visitor procedures.
AI Awareness Day 2027 recognition. Schools that keep the conversation going through multiple verified inter-school debates can gain AI Awareness Day 2027 recognition. Some of our most engaged schools will also be invited to
Refreshed resources: launch lessons straight from the page
Our resources page has been updated with new, easy-to-follow designs for teachers, including presentations that set out the big questions for students to explore. You can now launch presentations straight from the page, with no need to download anything.
Try it: AI as your Creative Partner
Have you led a debate club? We want to hear from you
If you’ve run debate clubs at your school, your experience could help shape the National Conversation. We’ll soon be rolling out a small number of Teacher Ambassador roles. To find out more, email info@aiawarenessday.co.uk
For partners and supporters: four ways to help
This month we’re onboarding new partners with strong links in AI and resources that have been test-driven and approved by the teacher community. We’re excited to welcome some great companies sharing their AI resources on our platform.
As the National Conversation grows, we’re also opening discussions with organisations that share our vision about sponsorship opportunities for AI Awareness Day 2027. If you know of an organisation that would be a perfect fit, we’d welcome an introduction.
Partner resources remain at the heart of AI Awareness Day. Students use them to build their knowledge before debates and to explore the issues further afterwards. Here’s how you can help:
- Update your resources: if anything has changed, send us your latest links or materials.
- Bring schools in: we’ll provide a unique referral route to share with schools in your network.
- Volunteer to judge: get the schools you work with to nominate you or colleagues to be a judge
- Make an introduction: connect us with organisations, schools, MATs or individuals who should be part of the National Conversation.
AI Awareness Day around the world: Africa, the Caribbean and Europe
We’ve had requests to bring AI Awareness Day to other countries, and we’re now speaking to leads in Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. We’re exploring a model where AI Awareness Day can run in your country, either independently or in sync with us, in the same way AI Awareness Day UK collaborates with AI Awareness Day US. If that sounds of interest, drop us a line.
Key dates for your calendar
- Now to December 2026: pilot sessions with schools and trusts
- 1 January 2027: National Conversation opens
- Thursday 29 April 2027: AI Awareness Day
By 29 April, we want to be able to say that young people across the country have spent months debating their future with AI, and that it’s time to hear what they have to say.
Join the National Conversation
Humans in the Loop means young people do the thinking.
The AI Awareness Day team
