Gloucester Charity To Launch Esports Alternative Provision School
The Gloucester Rugby Charitable Foundation has partnered with The BUSY Group to launch an esports school. The new Alternative Provision (AP) School will be located in Gloucester Rugby’s High Performance Centre when it launches this autumn.
And the group has said it will use esports and gaming to help children that struggle with traditional education methods. Students will be taught traditional lessons, as well as dedicated esports classes.
A Growing Industry
As the UK esports industry has continued to grow, esports courses have become increasingly common.
Several traditional institutions, including Leeds City College, Oldham College, Staffordshire University, the University of Salford, as well as dedicated venues like the University Campus of Esports offer esports courses.
Organisations like the British Esports Federation, which is set to open a new esports stadium in Sunderland later this year, are working with colleges and educational institutions to develop new esports course.
The courses teach more than just gaming with modules covering everything from psychology to business management, video editing, and event management.
Many of these skills, according to Gloucester Rugby Charitable Foundation CEO Rob Webber, are “transferrable skills”.
Webber went on to say: “Digital literacy is more important than ever with the sort of jobs that are being created.”
Vice Chair and Trustee of the Foundation, Peter House, added: “Increasing numbers of students are becoming disengaged from mainstream education.
“We believe we have a responsibility to support initiatives that give those young people the opportunities and support they deserve.”
Coming Soon
The new campus will include classrooms as well as a gaming room, sensory rooms, and indoor and outdoor well-being spaces. No specific date has been given for the opening, but we have been given a window of Autumn 2026 for it to go live.
