I first looked at the possibility of gaming in school after seeing the overwhelming popularity of online games in every age group. Gaming has also had a massive impact on my own life, and it was something fresh and unique that I could bring to Alva Academy when I arrived here as a probationer teacher. 

At first it was a lunchtime club. I would bring in my Xbox from home and hook it up to one of the big classroom boards. The pupils would all crowd around and we played offline games.

The turning point to really push this casual gaming club towards an official esports organisation came when one of our gaming club members approached me excitedly to let me know he had achieved one of the highest ranks in the highly competitive game Rocket League.

Our school thrives on promoting extracurricular activities and showcasing success. Singers and musicians are encouraged to perform in choirs, bands and orchestras, budding sports stars and dancers get opportunities to join successful teams, so I thought: why couldn’t we provide a similar platform for our enthusiastic esports players?

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After some research into what was available for students, I came across the British Esports Association (BEA), which organises tournaments across multiple games and platforms for students in UK schools and colleges. The biggest barrier for us was not having the correct equipment or network access to run any of the esports titles within the school grounds, which was a firm requirement of the BEA at the time. 

The power of esports in schools

Our real growth started during the first national Covid lockdown, when the BEA released a statement allowing students to play in its championship from home. Our teams played every Wednesday without fail, spending time creating and managing our new brand, Alva Alliance Esports.

We turned to graphic design, marketing, stream production - you name it. The team ended their run in the semi-finals, just shy of making it to the finals stage in Nottingham, but this success brought about a huge growth in our esports community, creating amazing working relationships with esports groups all over the UK.

Thanks to this success and incredible support from my faculty (art, music, PE and dance) principal teacher David Clifford, and Alva Academy’s senior management team, we managed to fund and create a state-of-the-art esports suite at the school.

David, who is also extracurricular lead at Alva Academy, describes this work “to embed esports into our extracurricular programme” as “extraordinary”, noting not only the high numbers of students involved but also the impressive results they have achieved in esports games.

“We have a thriving faculty, which promotes both physical and mental wellbeing, and the esports suite we have funded provides a similar platform for forging friendships, creating safe spaces, developing skills and achieving wider success, especially post-Covid,” he adds.

The set-up was predominantly school-funded but was partly kitted out through donations from partnerships with companies such as HyperX, GT Omega and Belong Gaming Arenas. Our school IT technicians have also been outstanding in helping us to find and install an online network that allows games to be played safely from the school.

Alva Alliance Esports now has around 80 student members across various roles, including tech support, production, socials and coaching. Students have had numerous opportunities through our esports activity, including playing in international tournaments -representing Scotland against the USA, Canada, Mexico and more - meeting like-minded students from all over the UK and creating pathways into some of Scotland’s biggest esports organisations. It has been great to see esports helping to restore that buzz in school that has been missing during Covid. 

“Following lockdown, one of our main priorities was to give our young people the chance to have fun and be with their friends,” our headteacher, Scott McEwan, tells me. “Through our extracurricular programme, we wanted to create the memories they will talk about years from now, laughing with friends and enjoying being part of something they really enjoy.

“Esports play a huge part in this. The numbers attending speak for themselves and you can see the positive impact it has on their confidence and sense of belonging.”

The overwhelming positives I have observed after only two years of leading esports at Alva Academy are: increased confidence in many of our members, pride in representing the school on a national and international platform, a hook for students to enhance their positive relationship with school life, the creation of leadership opportunities for students within the esports organisation and a focus on improving core values such as sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, creativity and determination.

For any staff member looking to bring esports to their school, the best advice I can give is to work with the students from day one to build an esports brand they are proud to represent.

Secondly, support from senior management and tech is integral. In the beginning, I spent time making a presentation on all the successes and opportunities that came from our lockdown esports. All of which helped to get everyone on board.

Lastly, start small and work closely with your students. I am extremely thankful to the small group of founding students who have worked with me over the two years to create something unique in school - an experience they will never forget and a legacy they leave behind for younger students. Those students now have leadership roles within the 80-member-strong organisation and play a massive part in running this day-to-day. 

We may hail from one of the smallest local authorities in Scotland, but Alva Academy is now known across the esports world, thanks to the work of our outstanding esports teams and the community they have helped to grow.  

Emma Liston is esports leader and a music teacher at Alva Academy, in Clackmannanshire, Scotland