Booking secures a place at an ISTA TAPS event by estimating the number of participants and paying a deposit. Registration finalises participant details, ensuring accurate planning for theatre tickets, catering, and transportation.

📅 Booking

Opens: 1:00 pm UK time on Monday, 31 March 2025

Before booking, ensure your trip is viable by checking:

• Travel restrictions and visa requirements

• Parental approvals

• School authorisation

At the time of booking, organisations must provide:

• Total number of students

• Total number of educators

• Lead educator chaperone contact details

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💰 Deposit & Confirmation

Upon booking, you will receive an invoice for a 25% deposit, based on the number of students booked. This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable and secures your reservation. Bookings are fully confirmed once the deposit is received within 30 days.

📌 Only book spaces you are certain you can fill to prevent unnecessary reductions at registration.

📝 Registration

Opens: 1:00 pm UK time on Monday, 31 March 2025

Closes: 11:59 pm UK time on Thursday 4 September 2025

Once registration opens, schools that have confirmed their students should register as soon as possible. All registrations must be completed by 4 September to finalise event logistics.

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At the time of registration, organisations must provide:

• Finalised participant details

• Travel information

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🔄 Changes in Student Numbers

• Fewer students than booked: Deposits for non-attending students are forfeited. (e.g. If you book 15 students but only 10 attend, the deposit for 5 will not be refunded.)

• Additional students: A 25% deposit per added student will be invoiced.

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⏳ Waitlist

If the event reaches capacity, it will be marked “Waitlist”. If you wish to be added:

1. Email the Event Manager with your requested number of students and teachers.

2. Spaces will be offered in the order waitlist requests are received.

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🛏️ Accommodation: All participants are responsible for booking their own accommodation in London for the duration of TAPS. We advise that you book hotels/hostels near the venue.

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🛬 Arrival: Participants should plan to arrive in London by the evening of Sunday, 5 October 2025  

🛫 Departure: Participants should not plan to leave the venue before 2:15 pm on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.

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🚎 Local Transportation: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own local transportation for this event. Please book travel accordingly and allow for ample time to travel to and from the airport/train station. 

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🛂 Visa Requirements

It is the responsibility of participants/schools to ensure they have the necessary visas.

📌 Visa applications can take time, so we strongly recommend starting the process as soon as possible.

If you require assistance or supporting documentation for your visa application, please contact the Event Manager well in advance.

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📢 Important Communication Information

ISTA business days are Monday to Friday, and we aim to respond to all emails within three business days.

📌 ISTA staff do not monitor emails on weekends (Saturday & Sunday) or public holidays. If a staff member is working at an event, response times may be longer than usual.

ISTA TAPS events follow a two-step automated payment process:

‍1️⃣ Step 1: Deposit Payment at Booking

• Upon booking, you will be required to pay a 25% deposit immediately.
• This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable and confirms your reservation.
• Bookings will only be secured once the deposit payment is successfully processed.

‍2️⃣ Step 2: Remaining Balance Upon Registration Closure

• Once registration closes, organisations will be automatically invoiced for the remaining 75% of registration fees, plus any applicable surcharges, based on the final number of students registered.

🔄 Changes in Student Numbers

• Fewer students than booked: Deposits for students who do not attend will be forfeited. (e.g. If you book 15 students but only 10 attend, the deposit for the 5 who do not attend will not be refunded.)‍
• Additional students: A 25% deposit per added student will be invoiced at the time of the increase.

TAPS Schedule:

• Start: 9:15 am Monday 6 October 2025
• End: 2:15 pm Wednesday 8 October 2025

Participants are expected to attend all sessions of the event.

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🎭 Educator Workshops: 

All educator chaperones will take part in a specialist workshop focusing on a specific aspect of theatre. Specialist Workshop leader and session information for this TAPS Perspectives will be confirmed by May 2025

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🎟️ All participants will attend two professional theatre performances.

PRODUCTION 1

Performance Title: Dracula
Venue/Theatre: Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Date and times: Monday 6 October 2025 / 7:30 PM
Description: “Beware the teller as much as the tale”

‍Mina Harker has a story to tell. Armed only with her husband’s journal, a pile of old letters and her wits, she begins to piece together the story of the mysterious Count Dracula and his journey to England.

‍But is Mina’s story merely memory – or does it have the power to conjure the dead?

‍In this major new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s horror classic, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia) uncovers the female voices at the heart of the tale. Directed by Emma Baggott (A Taste of Honey), this is a theatrical thriller not to be missed.

Link to website 

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PRODUCTION 2

Performance Title: Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Venue/Theatre: Phoenix Theatre, London
Date and times: Tuesday 7 October 2025 / Venue opens 17:30 Arrive by 18:30 Show starts 19:00
Description: Before the world turned upside down…

Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.

‍Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.

‍This production contains gunfire audio, loud noises and explosions, haze and smoke, flashing lights and strobe, and strong language. There are depictions of various mental health conditions and disorders.

Link to website

📄 E-Programmes containing detailed schedules, workshop information, artist bios and other event-specific information will be sent to participating organisations two weeks prior to the event. TAPS Journals will be distributed to learners at registration on Day 1 of the event. Learners should bring pens/pencils for note-taking and reflection activities.

🍏 No meals are provided as part of this event.

👕 Appropriate attire: 

• All participants must bring clothing that is suitable for physically active workshops during the day (athletic wear, PE kit, performance blacks, etc.) 
• Outfits suitable for attending theatre performances in the evening. 

Please note:

• Participants not dressed appropriately for physically active workshops may be asked to sit out.
• Participants may be asked to remove footwear, jewellery etc. for some workshops.
• Chewing gum is not permitted in any of the workshop spaces.

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✏️ Materials: 

• Any materials requested by the Workshop Leaders (printed text, notes on pre-reading/viewing activities etc.) details will be in the e-Programme
• Pens, pencils, highlighters etc. for notetaking in TAPS journals
• Refillable water bottle