Shaping the future of learning with Digital Schoolhouse

Last week saw our four finalists come together at WASD to battle it out for the championship title and take home the trophy as the first winners of our latest iteration of the Digital Schoolhouse Senior Tournament in our latest title, Splatoon 3.

The competing schools had competed through the school heats, regional qualifiers and semi-final events and it truly was anyone's game to win as the first match kicked off. But it was Altrincham Grammar School for Boys' team, AGSB, who fought they're way up from the loser bracket to come out on top.

Southend High School for Boys' team,?SHSB Esports, finished in second place, followed by Outwood Academy City's OAC Esports and Hinchley Wood School's Tidal Wave team.?

Players went away with some incredible prizes, included branded merchandise from our programme lead partners and tournament sponsors, Nintendo UK, including a frame art piece for the AGSB team to display back in school. The winners and runners up were also awarded with medals and trophies recognise their incredible achievement and skill.

All teams carried the weight of expectation following some intense matches in the semi-final events in March but despite the rivalries, the ongoing sportsmanship and respect for all teams was a joy to witness. Players regularly acknowledged their rival teams in post-match speeches with the grand final host, Alysia Judge, and their were handshakes all around at the end of the event, along with incredible support from the wider audience during some seriously close matches!

Beyond the players

This year saw the return of our Creative Careers Competitions, with categories in commentating, producing and journalism up for grabs on the day.

We were honoured to be joined once again by Nimmz and BowietheHero in the commentator box, supporting 9 students who had progressed through the previous stages with developing their skills and confidence with commentating. This was one of our strongest cohorts of commentators yet and while all gave it their all to bring the energy, excitement and enthusiasm to the the matches, Dax from St John Fisher Catholic High School and Albert from Southend High School for Boys were selected as the winners.

New to this year's tournament was the producer competition, judged by Damon Bates, founder of ZMS Esports Studio. This saw students take control of the in-game view, working with the commentators to create an engaging experience for the audience both in-person and online. Josh from Hinchley Wood School was selected as the winner of this tournament and both he and the commentator winners went away with trophies, medals and an incredible new elgato Stream Deck+ each too, courtesy of?Scan Computers.

Our journalism competition return once again this year, with the support of Dom Sacco, freelance journalist and editor at Esports News UK. It was Dax from St John Fisher Catholic High School who came away with another top prize for their love letter to commentating and the impact it has had on their confidence. Their winning entry will be posted on Esports News UK soon.

They have blossomed from someone who would normally shy away from big crowds, into now [...] conducting impromptu interviews with the competing squads to find out more about the people behind the characters to aid with their commentating. They are an absolute natural in front of the microphone and the skills developed during this year's tournament will continue to support them well into the future. - Mark Ward, Teacher, St John Fisher Catholic High School

Inspiration from Industry

One of the great perks of hosting this year's grand final at WASD was the wider industry access and experience for the students, who were encouraged to test out games and meet industry representatives throughout the day. But we also brought them to us to witness the student's talent and highlight future opportunities within digital and creative careers.

The day was kicked off with an opening speech from the new Ukie CEO, Nick Poole, who brought an incredible energy to the space while promoting the variety of opportunities available to those with an interest in video games. Dom Sacco and Damon Bates, our competition judges, also led short introductions on journalism and production, two areas of the industry that can be overlooked or misunderstood by students looking to get their foot in the door.

We were also excited to be joined by this year's winners of the Ukie Student Game Jam, the Reckless Ferrets,?Ilena Pegan, Carrie Penn, Chester Huang, talking about their game Taketh Giveth. The panel was hosted by Deborah Farley from Tranzfuser,?a fantastic programme that guides graduates through the experience of setting up their own studio and creating their first video game. The student team spoke about their journeys into the industry and their experiences of building a game together, valuable food-for-thought for our students and teachers at the grand final.

I want to give a heartfelt thank you to the teachers and students that take part. In today’s landscape you’ve got to be a visionary as a teacher to a certain extent to take the leap and try esports. And to the industry, I feel like they have truly embraced and backed Digital Schoolhouse. We always get such a positive and warm response, and that’s been spectacular. - Shahneila Saeed, Director of Digital Schoolhouse.

For so many of these students, the tournament has provided yet another year of teamwork, skill-building and opportunities beyond those typically offered in the classroom. For all our schools who took part this year, and no matter what stage of the tournament they reached, it has been a unique experience that has seen incredible sportsmanship, creativity and bravery to take part in and we can't wait to see the tournament continue to grow in 2025!

If you would like to sign up to join next year's tournament, please register your interest here.