'I study esports at school - it's not just playing games'

At well over six feet tall, you might think that Alfie would be more at home in the forwards pack on the rugby pitch when it comes to sport.

But the 16-year-old Selkirk High School student is standing next to a bank of computer screens in front of hundreds of screaming fellow pupils crammed into the lunch hall.

He's part of a small team running an inter-house school competition for the modern age - an esports tournament.

It's part of the new esports qualification that he and another six other pupils are studying at Selkirk, one of the schools piloting the new qualification.

The new National Progression Award (NPA) in Esports, which is equivalent to a Higher, provides an overview of the esports industry.

It serves as a starting point for learners who want a career in the sector, which is growing rapidly with increasing employment opportunities.

"When I first looked at the course I thought this was a strange course I wouldn't expect to be at school," says Alfie. "But then I thought wow, this is really exciting."

Alfie stresses that the course is not about playing video games. It's about studying the background and history of esports - and exploring the opportunities of the multi-billion pound global industry.

He didn't realise that people could make a career out of gaming.

"We've learnt about the history and the business side and how people make money," he said.

"I didn't know this but you can be a nutritionist for players."

The tournament is the culmination of months of work and planning for the team.

"It's been quite hard because you had to find out where can you plug stuff in, how do you actually get enough people that actually want to play and getting all the equipment sorted," Alfie said.

Paul Graham, an education development officer who specialises in digital education with Scottish Borders Council, said there was some initial scepticism when the esports qualification was introduced.

"I think when you talk about esports and you start to highlight the strengths and the skills that young people can get from it, the passion they have for it and the learning that can come alongside, it starts to really make sense when they start to hear what those opportunities are," he said.

He added that actually playing games is a very small aspect of the course which he says teaches the pupils a range of valuable and transferable skills in a bid to inspire the next generation of creators, developers, and entrepreneurs.

"We want every school to have an opportunity to run these esport courses and gain qualifications up to the equivalent of Higher but then also allow young people to take that to college courses and then on to university level if they want to," he said.

The tournament is a big success as far as the teachers are concerned, the deafening noise from the cheering crowds of pupils a sure sign they enjoyed it.

Back in the classroom the esports class is already breaking down what worked and what didn't, how they could have made more from it and how to tackle the technology problems they encountered.

The de-brief is being led by the course teacher Richard Willan, the principal teacher of creativity and enterprise at Selkirk High. He is impressed with the effort the pupils have put into the tournament, not least the amount of their own time out of school.

"This course actually puts all the learning into context." he said.

"They develop research skills, teamwork skills, interpersonal skills, but also the literacy and numeracy skills that they have had to use, all based within the esports context, on something they are actually engaged and interested in.

"The learning has just happened. From a teaching perspective it's amazing because esports is just the vehicle for them learning and its a nice neat package and that means that we are not having to push the learning, they are driving it themselves."

After the tournament Alfie says he has loved being part of the organising team, he's already full of ideas for another one. He has clearly taken a lot from the event and says he is definitely interested in a career in esports or the gaming industry.

But when I asked him would he rather a career in esports or a rugby cap for Scotland, there's not a moment's hesitation: "Play for Scotland".