Digital Schoolhouse

In September, one pupil arrived at his school “really, really quiet. Low-key.” His teacher says he “didn’t want to involve himself with everything.” At our Splatoon 3 Tournament Regional Qualifier in Newcastle, he spent half an hour commentating, talking live and unscripted while the match played out in front of a room full of people. “It was a really touching moment to see that,” his teacher said. Esports in schools is about more than just building a team; for a pupil like this, picking up the mic can be the first time school has given him a way to be heard. If you teach computing and want your pupils to have that experience, you can enter your school in Digital Schoolhouse esports here: https://zurl.co/Ww0if #DigitalSchoolhouse

Gaming is an increasingly important part of family life, but navigating it isn’t always easy for parents. Digital Schoolhouse are absolutely delighted to be featured in Family Gaming Database's free Parents’ Guide to Gaming with Confidence, together with Nintendo UK. If parents can feel more informed about everything from age ratings and online safety to screen time and parental controls, then we can all play together. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/eKPMuKfM #digitalschoolhouse

Fun, friendship and personal growth. The secret to winning is... well, we'll let the pupils let you know what they think. #DigitalSchoolhouse

It's fun. There's no way getting around it: one of the best things about our schools esports is the joy it brings to the pupils. Making friendships across year groups, bonding with people by competing and having great times together that they will remember for years. Is there anything better than seeing pupils having fun? We don't think so. Know a school who would want this for their pupils? The link to sign up for our Senior Esports tournament is in the first comment. #DigitalSchoolhouse

Playful Pedagogy = purposeful progress. Three times a year, we bring our Lead Teacher network together to inspire, inform and invest in the people who deliver our impact - the teachers. But don't take our word for it; one of our fantastic Lead Teachers, Laurie Davis has written about her takeaways from the day. Inspired teachers inspire pupils. #DigitalSchoolhouse

Why have esports in schools? It's a question we hear a lot, so rather than us answering, we got teachers to answer instead. So what did they say? - Esports helps close the gender divide in Computer Science - School community grew and pupils found their tribe - More pupils got to represent their school competitively So, next time someone asks 'Why have esports in schools?', you know that the question really is, 'Why not?' #DigitalSchoolhouse

Digital Schoolhouse Senior esports is back! Our national Splatoon 3 senior esports tournament with Nintendo Switch is back for another year, and is open for entries now! Our tournament: - Gives children a space to bond over their love of video games - Develops team work, communication and cross year group collaboration - is a fun, accessible welcoming space for all! Know a school who wants moments like this for their pupils? Link in comments

BBC News ran a feature this year headlined "Southend teacher says video gaming is gateway to computer science," about one of our own Schoolhouses. We were also named in The Guardian's piece on positive alternatives to social media for under-16s, alongside organisations like the Scouts and the National Trust. 📖 See the full picture in our 2025-26 impact report - link in comments. #DigitalSchoolhouse

Teachers and schools are more stretched for time and budget than ever. And, teachers being teachers, they are putting the children first and losing out instead on time and resources to do the Continuing Professional Development they need and want to. We’ve seen at our own events last year that the cost of cover and the difficulty in releasing teachers from class has been a huge issue up and down the country. Digital Schoolhouse is stepping in to help where we can. We will be giving Computing Teachers free CPD, when and where they need it, starting with monthly videos from leading education academics and practitioners, which teachers can access anywhere and at any time on our YouTube channel. This, alongside our three Ingenuity Days a year and annual Playful Computing Conference, is part of our commitment to upskill Computing teachers despite all of the challenges. And we are delighted to kick off the series with the incredible Professor Michael Kölling of Kings College London talking about why coding isn’t hard, and his new teacher technology, Strype. See a sneak preview below, and the full video is on our YouTube.

Two of this year's Regional Qualifiers for our esports tournament didn't go to plan. In Leicester, a security incident closed our venue two days before the event. In London, a fire in the Velodrome's server room shut things down mid-tournament. Both times, the team found a new space and got the event back on schedule - because the pupils who had worked so hard to get there deserved their day to shine. In the end, 195 students competed across all seven Regional Qualifiers this year, and in-person attendance actually grew. #DigitalSchoolhouse