A fantastic year for schools at Discovery Film Festival
Over 3,600 pupils visited our 2025 festival to experience films and creative workshops
We are thrilled announce that over 3,600 school pupils from Dundee, Fife, Perth and Angus attended this year’s Discovery Film Festival, marking the festival’s highest attendance since before the pandemic.
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This year, in response to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and pressured school budgets, all Discovery screenings for schools were free of charge for the first time, and bus travel was also made free for schools from Dundee. With barriers to attendance removed, the festival saw a 58% increase in admissions, with pupils from seven out of eight wards in the city watching films at DCA.
Discovery Film Festival’s schools programme offers a carefully curated selection of films from around the world for nurseries, primary and secondary schools, all accompanied by teacher-created resources to enhance classroom learning. Many visiting classes also take part in creative workshops led by DCA’s Learning team and attend tours of DCA galleries.
We’re incredibly proud that Discovery Film Festival reached so many children from across the city and region this year. Making this year's schools screenings free for all pupils has helped us to ensure we continue delivering DCA's mission to enrich people’s lives through art, culture and creativity, regardless of financial barriers. This was only possible thanks to the increase in our funding from Creative Scotland and demonstrates the real, immediate impact of public funding for arts and culture.
– Beth Bate, DCA Director
Teacher feedback[Free tickets and transport] had a significant impact as some of our families are struggling and extra curricular trip money cannot be a priority. The children who came to the DCA would not have been able to come to the festival without it being a school trip. Some of the children in the group have English as a second language and there are significant difficulties for them and their parents to travel/visit attractions.
Free entry for Dundee learners has encouraged many schools to take part, helping to remove cost barriers that can prevent families from accessing cultural experiences and ensuring every child has the chance to enjoy the magic of cinema.
– Virginie Bradbury, Teacher at St Joseph’s RC Primary School
The festival schools programme is accompanied by two weekends of public screenings and events, all with Donate What You Can pricing. Visit our Discovery Film Festival page to find out more – we can't wait to welcome everyone back for another fantastic programme in 2026.
Photography by Erika Stevenson
