TEAM NEW COLLEGE SWINDON WIN DSH ESPORTS GRAND FINAL

The Digital Schoolhouse Esports grand final took place yesterday, on 11th Nov. Teams of students from schools and colleges across the country got together online to battle it out, with Peter, Mat and Joe from New College taking first place out of 1000 teams that participated in the tournament.

Thirteen regional school and college champions were battling it out from 10am in the Super Smash Bros ultimate team battle. The event would usually be based in London, but this year it took place online, with a live stream happening via Twitch.

Organisers, Digital Schoolhouse, also hosted a fantastic careers panel during the day. Speakers included: Journalist and Presenter, Elle Osili-Wood, Gaming partnerships Lead for TikTok Europe, Wayne Emanual, UK Designer and Researcher, Netspeak Games, Nida Ahmed, Actor, Game Developer & Producer - Silver Rain Games, Abubakar Salim and Game Music Composer, Sound Designer & Audio Consultant, Jade Leamcharaskul. The careers panel provided learners with a great opportunity to listen to industry experts, ask them questions and gain valuable insight and advice on how to break into the industry.

The winning team at New College were delighted, student Peter said: “It was tense, but overall it was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to do it next year - I would recommend signing up. I was worried it would be too competitive, but it was really fun.”

Mat said: “This helps with team work and communication, it was really fun! I was on the edge of my seat and it was intense, but good fun and I’ve gained a lot of skills. A couple of weeks ago, Peter messaged Joe to be the third teammate. Mat did it last year and he heard Joe in Graphics class talk about the game, so asked him if he would like to join the team and it went from there! We’ve also made friends out of this experience.”

Joe added: “We won - nice job team! This will be great to put on my CV.”

Tony Gilbert, Assistant Curriculum Manager – Business, Computing and Travel & Tourism at New College, is extremely of the team, who win the champion’s title for 2020 and a glass trophy! He commented: "I am delighted that Peter, Joe and Mat are DSH National Esports Winners 2020! They have worked incredibly hard and are deserved winners and overcome some tough opponents on the path to the grand finale. Esports is more than just 'playing games' it really is about developing vital life skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, and resilience and the guys demonstrated that throughout the whole tournament. The learners, the college and I are extremely grateful to Digital Schoolhouse and their sponsors for all their hard work behind the scenes to setup the virtual grand finale - without them this would not have been possible! A quick mention on the careers panel, organised by Digital Schoolhouse during the final, with industry experts was so inspirational and I know learners across the college will find their advice so helpful! We look forward to retaining our trophy in 2021!"

Find out more about our new Level 3 BTEC Esports course: https://www.newcollege.ac.uk/course/btec-national-extended-diploma-in-esports-level-3/NC622A