BETT was first launched as the "Hi Technology and Computers in Education Exhibition" in January 1985. It changed its name to BETT (British Education and Training Technology) a couple of years after that. In recent years, the individual words that make up the BETT acronym have been dropped, and the event is now simply known as BETT.

The event originally featured 112 stands and took place in two halls at the Barbican Exhibition Centre, London EC2. It moved from the Barbican to the National Hall, Olympia in 1993 and was held in the Grand Hall for the first time in 1999. 2009 marked BETT's 25th year, and the event now spans both the National and the Grand Halls at Olympia.

More than 700 exhibition stands will be promoting a range of products and services from the ICT industry, as well as providing free advice and support from a range of supporting and government organisations.

Becta, and other government agency stands, will be located in the Supporting Next Generation Learning zone in the National Hall (near the main entrance), hosting an extensive programme of free twenty-minute sessions on the Becta stand, delivered by Becta, partner organisations, award-winning schools and teachers, and of course the learners themselves!