In an educational setting the mere utter of the phrase ‘esports’ often results in two polar opposite reactions: the first, one of excitement and the second, one of fear. Both exist at whatever level in the hierarchy the respondent sits.

Lecturers and teachers may be super excited at the prospect of taking on esports and delivering to the students while colleagues may scour at the thought due to a fear of the unknown. The same can be said for senior management, some (and many have) grabbed the opportunity with both hands and set the wheels in motion for its introduction, while others have been wary due to a misconception of what it is, how it works and how much is it going to cost!

Whatever the reaction, the one thing that can’t be ignored is the emergence of esports within education which has been extraordinary over the last few years. What started out as a snowball has gathered momentum and grown into an avalanche of interest and implementation. But it’s not just the educators who have contributed to the phenomenon, industry have played their part too and I’ll come back to that later.

But let’s start with the title of this article, ‘The Wow Factor!’. I’m sure most of you will have already guessed where I’m going with this. Esports offers an amazing opportunity to create that wow factor in education. Here at Queen’s Mary College in Basingstoke we are very fortunate to have established an esports facility that simply inspires both learners and teachers alike. Every time we welcome new students or parents to the building we witness the response, jaws drop, the phrase ‘wow’ is commonly used and simply ‘poking the head around the corner to have a nose’ isn’t enough, they want to explore the arenas, see what’s streaming on the large screens, question what the yoga and palates room is there for and that’s before they’ve seen the streaming lab!

With not one, but two gaming arenas and all of the other continually developing facilities at QMC we appreciate how lucky we are and we always encourage every other institution who has the capability to develop something similar — build it and they will come... Our student recruitment has sky rocketed over the last two years due to esports and all it has to offer and the glowing computers, LED lights, flashing peripherals, neon signs and framed esports jerseys decorating the walls certainly help!

QMC were lucky enough to have obtained significant backing and support from the local LEP which facilitated our development; but what if you don’t have the funds, or you can’t find the financial backing from other sources?

Well let’s be clear about one thing, you can still run the BTEC in esports without having super-duper gaming arenas! Yes, you will need a number of gaming machines in order to complete some of the units, which is affordable, but you don’t need a massive arena. The BTEC has been designed so that schools and colleges can include it as a curriculum offer without the ‘wow’ factor which makes it so clever. You also don’t need to have a team of teachers who specialise in esports to deliver it. There are plenty of units within the specification that can be delivered by staff who are delivering different subjects including business, sport, media, games, IT etc making it a very viable option from the start.

The ’wow’ factor is the bonus – but not an essential ingredient, although I would like to add a caveat to that. Young learners studying esports do have a level of expectation of what that looks like and it’s worth considering the potential disappointment, lack of recruitment or simply bad reputation that could occur as a result of no ‘esports facilities’. With some careful thought, planning and advice from others you can still create an esports atmosphere that’s acceptable to your cohorts without the need for six figure investment straight off the bat. That can come later, and when you see the level of interest and recruitment opportunities you may well find yourselves reconsidering your initial ideas!

So this is where I’d like to return to one of my opening points in that the rapid growth of esports within education has two contributing factors, the educators and the tech industry.

Now nothing I’m talking about today is based on extensive research, merely observations made from an educational insiders point of view and a consultants external viewpoint and I would say the key to maximise the success of your study programme or curriculum is to develop your industry links and curriculum alongside each other.

Esports is ‘the next big thing’, ‘the exciting development’ and the ’shiny new star’ of education which is exemplified by the official launch of the BTEC in esports at the BETT show.