"Never fails to engage the students and raise plenty of interest in college and the town generally. Always creates a feel-good factor."

Teacher, Whitby Community College
  • Education Service
  • Institute for Citizenship

About Schools Questions and Answers

About Schools Questions and Answers

Schools Questions and Answers is a Political Literacy and Citizenship Life Skills initiative supported by the Institute for Citizenship, Parliament's Education Service and the BBC. The Schools Questions and Answers Challenge uses the format of BBC ONE's Question Time and BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? as a springboard for engaging young people in democratic society and helping them discuss issues that affect them, their communities and the wider world.


Schools Questions and Answers builds on the Schools Question Time project that ran from 2003 - 2011, in partnership with BBC ONE's Question Time. To find out more about Schools Question Time please see our Previous Years section.


Schools Questions and Answers Challenge

  • Record a Radio or TV debate on a topic of your choice 
  • Learn about politics, parliament and how to host a stimulating debate
  • A chance to host a BBC programme from your school!
Schools Questions and Answers Free Citizenship Resources Available All Year Round


  • Supporting the Citizenship curriculum and Political Literacy.
  • Helping improve students' Citizenship Life Skills including enquiry, analysis, debating and opinion forming.
  • Engaging young people in society, politics and Parliament.

Free Teacher Training

  • Parliament’s Education Service is running a series of free teacher training for teachers of political literacy within subjects such as Politics, Citizenship, Modern Studies and General Studies across the UK.
  • These sessions are FREE and open to any teacher who would like to broaden their general knowledge about Parliament and to find out about how they can participate in the BBC News School Report and Schools Questions and Answers Challenge.
  • They are primarily aimed at teachers students aged 11-19


The BBC’s Question Time has been running for over 25 years on BBC ONE and is Britain’s most watched political programmes. BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? has been broadcast since 1948. Their joint aims are to give people all round the UK the chance to debate directly with leading politicians and others who hold power and have influence to change opinions, but also to scrutinise and hold to account those in power. The studio audience is as much part of the programme as those sitting on the panel.


The Schools Questions and Answers Challenge was launched in September 2011 and is a national competition for 14 – 19 year olds in schools and colleges. It uses the format of the popular programmes - BBC ONE's Question Time and Radio 4's Any Questions as a springboard for engaging young people in democratic society and helping them to discuss issues that affect them, their communities and the wider world.

Each year student winners of the Challenge get the opportunity to host a BBC programme from their school. Students and teachers now have the opportunity to enter the Challenge and use the BBC programmes as a basis for work and activities to improve understanding and knowledge of Citizenship issues through discussion.


Learn more about The Challenge by reading the Challenge Guide


Find out more about the stages of the Challenge by going to the Timetable Page