Teignmouth Community School (TCS) has won the first secondary schools esports tournament to be held in the southwest.

The Southwest Supersonic Showcase, which was held at TCS last Thursday (March 20), involved students aged 11-16 from ten schools across Devon and Somerset, including Teign School.

The competition was aimed at highlighting some of the talented gamers from schools in the region, showing how esports can help young people develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills, and inspiring participants to consider a career in the growing esports or digital technology sectors.

Esports, short for electronic sports, are competitive video games where individuals or teams battle against each other in games, such as Rocket League and Valorant. Competitions often take place in leagues, tournaments and events and attract spectators either in person or online.

Esports are rapidly growing in popularity and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2027.

For many schools, the event at TCS was the first time their students had ever played in a LAN (local area network) tournament in front of an audience. The tournament also highlighted that a pastime that is usually associated as a solitary activity can actually be a sociable activity that develops essential skills.

TCS head of computing, esports, and vocational education Michael Feeney was also keen to highlight that esports are a great way of engaging students who might not participate in traditional school extracurricular or sports clubs.

The event was sponsored by the Devon County Council Raising Digital Engagement initiative, which aims to help schools tap into students’ passion for video games and recognise the transferable skills students can pick up through gaming as well as the career opportunities available within the digital technology sector.

‘This is a great way to connect schools, so they can build a community and learn from each other about how to build esports into the curriculum,’ commented Simone Marillier, Devon County Council Senior Economic Development Officer. ‘We want to raise awareness and inspire students in Key Stage 3 (age 11-14) to pursue digital careers,’ she added.

While the students participating in the competition currently access esports at school via extracurricular clubs, the event itself was organised by TCS students studying esports at BTEC level. Putting the event together has helped them develop practical skills in marketing, leadership and organisation.

‘TCS is the only comprehensive school in the southwest running esports courses in the 6th form at Level 2 and Level 3,’ said Michael Feeney, ‘We take part in the student championships, a national collegiate series of tournaments run by the British Esports Federation, and we have a partnership with College of Esports in London, which provides a pathway for students to go on to study, business, digital marketing and management degrees through the lens of esports,’ he added.

‘Currently, the southwest is behind many parts of the country in integrating esports into school curriculum,’ Michael noted. ‘The purpose of the event is to highlight how esports can be used to engage students in school, raise aspiration of young people and develop essential skills through participation.’