What is Esports?

Why Introduce Esports in Education?

Esports is a vast, growing and dynamic industry with millions of global fans – and it offers an opportunity for educators to turbo-charge student skills and provide career opportunities in a surprising array of areas. 

Learners who explore esports can find careers in marketing, events, management, cybersecurity, the game development, design and more. 

And whether you introduce esports through skills-based qualifications or through an extra-curricular programme, its innovative approach to education resonates deeply with learners who may not mesh with traditional academic methods. 

You’ll be able to create a more engaging learning environment, deploy game-changing gamification techniques and use technology to explain challenging concepts. Esports also plays a key role in helping students develop critical thinking, teamwork and strategic skills.

Esports, where players work in teams to win online gaming competition, requires practice, dedication and skills development, and players need to use problem-solving, collaboration and communication to get the win.

• Develop problem-solving & strategic skills.
• Boost self-confidence, communication and player socialisation.
• Promote teamwork – players must work together to overcome obstacles.
• Encourage leadership from players who need to get the most from their team.
• Generate more interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
• You can get whole cohorts involved, with opportunities in game development, design, broadcasting, marketing, management, social media, events and more!

Esports as a Solution

From inception and configuration to installation and ongoing support, we’ll consult with you to bring your ideas to life – while helping you get maximum value out of your budget and delivering on your education goals.

As a proudly circular IT provider, our holistic approach means we don’t just provide industry-leading esports PCs – we take care of software and licensing, and we’ll work with you to create world-class esports suites with AV, peripherals, furniture and decorations.

Once you’ve picked out your next deployment, our nationwide network of engineers will install without disruption, so your staff and users get the best experience.
We make the brilliant possible, and we’ll help you boost learning outcomes for every student with world-class esports hardware.

• Desktop and mobile esports solutions – long-term partnerships with Intel, AMD and Nvidia means bespoke PCs tailored to the games your pupils will be playing.
• Peripherals & Accessories – range-topping, high refresh-rate monitors, shoutcasting IT from Elgato, and the latest keyboards, mice and headsets.
• Full Room Design & Installation – customised esports desks from TopTec, ergonomic chairs, AV deployments and adaptive peripherals and furniture.
• Networking – Stone’s team of network engineers can plan, deliver and support low latency networking to offer blisteringly fast gaming.
• Installation – From boots on the ground to third line remote support, we’re ready to build bespoke support packages that keep you working and pupils learning.
• Branding – customised chairs and desks with vinyl logos, laser etching, decals and full customisation delivers the visuals your teams need.
• Support – our industry-leading, on-site, next-business-day warranty services mean you don’t have to worry about It issues slowing you down.
• Enablement – budgetary planning, flexible financing options, end-of-lifecycle management and a range of warranty SLAs improve total cost of ownership.
• What else? - Beyond your next esports deployment, we’ll connect you with partners like Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Asus and more to really make esports resonate with your learners.

Questions & Answers:

What governing bodies do we need to align with?
The British Esports Federation is a great option – the organisation manages most esports in the UK, including the British Student Championships. We also recommend National Student Esports (NSE), which provides competitions and resources for teams in education.

Why should I set up and manage esports teams?

By harnessing the passion your students have for gaming, you can discover how esports can transform learning – because it fosters a wide range of skills, like critical thinking and teamwork, while keeping students invested and engaged.

Deploy esports in your organisation and you’ll also improve student self-esteem and communication skills while teaching them about management, events, design and development.

What do the students want?

Students need the right tools to succeed in esports: high-performance PCs, responsive peripherals and reliable internet connections are all crucial.

It’s important to choose the right games, too. Popular titles like League of Legends, CS:GO and DOTA 2 offer loads of competitive play, and games like Rocket League and Splatoon offer more diverse and less violent approaches.

The best competition formats include single-elimination, double-elimination and round-robin, which provide unique and varied challenges to players, and it’s crucial to create inclusive environments ensure diverse participation.

Creating a welcoming environment fosters a stronger sense of community and a better experience for everyone involved – and if you use the right hardware and games, students will find success online, too.

What games do Stone offer? Are they appropriate?

With a wealth of gaming, esports and IT industry experience, Stone’s experts are ready to advise you on which games are appropriate for your students – and help you buy, configure and deploy the top titles. We’ll also connect you with leading UK esports organisations so you can start competing.

How do you manage purchasing, licensing and updates?

We’ll guide you through the most efficient routes for licensing and managing your new games. As a Microsoft Direct CSP Partner, we can also provide subscriptions to Microsoft Game Pass for access to over 100 high-quality games.

What about security?

We work with world-class security specialists and partner with providers like Sophos, SonicWall and WatchGuard, so we can advise on safeguarding, assess your current security situation and create new deployments that bolster your existing cybersecurity without interfering with operations – so your students can stay safe while exploring the world of esports.

How does Stone cater for students with mixed abilities?

We believe that esports are for everyone, so we configure and supply adaptive desks and seats, customisable peripherals, big-screen displays and assistive software that can maximise inclusivity and accessibility for every student.

Can you help us create an esports suite?

Yes! We will work with you to understand your requirements – from the size and shape of the room to the games you want to play, the aesthetic you’d prefer and the competitions you want to hold.

We will work with you and our expert partners to plan, install and configure your room, and we can include AV, lighting and branded furniture to help your new esports suite attract new players and impress keen gamers.

How are we going to afford this?

Increasingly, education institutions are extracting more value from their IT by using devices to perform multiple roles – a typical esports PC can be used for design class, software development and coursework, too.

We will create specifications based on your curriculum to help you maximise your return on investment, which means you can leverage different budgets to build an esports solution. And with a range of flexible financing and payment solutions available, you can make the costs work around your plans.

Do you have any case studies we can look at?

Absolutely. Click here to watch our video about our work with Gower College Swansea, where our esports IT underpins the internationally successful GCS Owls esports team. 

You can read about our work with Newcastle College Group, where we partnered with Intel to create an esports lab for BTEC courses.