Plan your visit

We get it – it’s no small feat taking dozens of students out and about on a trip, which is why we’ve pulled together this page and filled it with all the practical information you may need to support your trip. (Hopefully we’ve thought of everything, but if there’s anything not answered here, feel free to email us at schools@edbookfest.co.uk.)

Arriving on site

North, south, east and west… we’re lucky to have schools coming to us from all directions! You’re free to navigate your class to us however suits you best, but we’ve outlined below the routes and entrances that give you the most straightforward path to enter our Festival site.

This year all of our schools events take place at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF.

By foot

If your class is arriving on foot, you’ll want to trot along to the east side of the building and find yourself on Middle Meadow Walk. Our Main Festival Entrance is on the corner with Porters Walk – head there to walk, run, skip, or dance your way into the Festival.

By public bus

If you are travelling cross-city by public bus, your stop will most likely be on Lauriston Place. Once off the bus, head down Middle Meadow Walk (to the east of the EFI building), and enter the Festival via our Main Festival Entrance on the corner with Porters Walk. 

By coach

The main drop-off location is to the west of the EFI building on Nightingale Way. This is drop-off only, not parking. 

Convenient drop-off locations close to EFI are limited, so on busy days we try to schedule arrivals so that everyone can have their turn dropping off as close to the Festival site as possible. We‘ll ask you as part of your booking communications if you plan to travel by coach, and may request that you try to arrive within a specified time period in order to help manage arrival traffic (with flexibility – we know travel often doesn’t go according to plan!).

Finding your way around EFI

The Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) is a large building, which can get very busy during our Festival. We take over and create many magical spaces within the building, from our venues to our book signing areas, and of course the Discovery Zone on Level 2 for our School takeover days!

You can find further detailed information about getting around EFI over on our Visit us page, including a handy map.

Book signings

All Schools events will be followed by a book signing session. We see in our yearly feedback that this chance to meet the author face-to-face is often the most favourite moment of many visits! 

Most School book signings take place in our Signing Tent, located within the Festival Bookshop on the South Courtyard. Some signings will take place within the event venue – this will be made clear by the event speaker.  

Authors will journey to the tent after their event (or move to a signing desk if the signing is taking place within the venue), ready to sign books, answer burning questions, and some may even be happy to join in a quick photo moment. Pupils can of course bring along their new free book, or if they have a favourite edition they are welcome to bring this in from home. Please be aware that books are the only items authors will sign – not blank sheets of paper, uniforms, or body parts (we’ve had requests in the past!). 

Signing sessions officially last up to 90 minutes, but can often run over. The signing tent can get very busy and queues can take some time to filter through, so please make sure to factor in plenty time after your event if you are bringing your students along. 

Collection of free books

We are proud to gift a free book with every Schools ticket. Seeing hundreds of young people treasure their new story truly is one of the most magical parts of the Festival every year.

These free books will be given out in each venue, just before the start of each event.  

We know that sometimes plans change and trips may need to be cancelled last minute. We hope this doesn’t happen, but if you find yourself in this position you can still arrange to get your free books. The books will be stored at a Edinburgh Waterstones branch, where you will be able to collect your order from. We will update this webpage when we’ve confirmed which Waterstones branch you can collect from.   

Free books for every pupil has been enabled by the generous support of Claire and Mark Urquhart.

Top tips for staying safe 

Safety is always at the top of our priorities, and we see it as a fundamental part of creating a warm and welcoming experience (one of the aspects of our Festival we’re most proud of). 

Our Festival is planned and operated in line with strict safety regulations, but it is still a major event with potentially hundreds of people on site at any time. Our risk assessment is available on request, but we’ve pulled out some top tips here to help ensure that your school’s visit is smooth and safe. 

If you need help at any point during your visit

Our experienced Front of House team are easily spottable in bright orange t-shirts. They’ll be highly present throughout our School Programme days, but if you encounter any issues or difficulties during your visit, don’t hesitate to approach them for help. That’s what they’re there for!

Lost child

Even with multiple classes moving between venues and events, a lost child is a rare occurrence. Should you become aware of a missing individual, let our Front of House staff know as soon as possible, and we will immediately activate our Lost Child Procedure. A call around our wider staff body would be triggered, as well as Edinburgh University Facilities staff being made aware to assist. Please encourage your students to stay where they are if they find themselves separated from the group.

Taking photography of your visit

We would love you to document your visit, and share if your school uses social media. If you choose to do this, please be mindful of the privacy and permissions not only of your own pupils, but of classes that may be around you in the space. EFI is a large building with plenty of quiet corners for a photo moment without others in the background!

Get in touch if you have any questions

Just like each pupil, each school visit can be unique. If you have any questions or concerns not covered in these webpages, please do get in touch with schools@edbookfest.co.uk. 

Encouraging the next generation of readers and book lovers is part of our mission as a charity, and we want to do all that we can to help enable school visits.