Provisional Qualification: Level 3 Extended Certificate

^{The proposed course content and exam board are provisional and may be subject to change before the start of the course.}

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More than gaming. Understand the industry. Analyse performance. Build something of your own.

Esports is much bigger than playing games. Behind every successful team, tournament and esports brand is an industry combining technology, business, data, strategy, entrepreneurship and digital communities.

At BOA Digital, Esports gives you the opportunity to explore that industry from the inside. You'll investigate how esports operates in the UK and internationally, analyse competitive performance, explore the business behind the industry and consider how players can maximise performance while maintaining their physical and psychological wellbeing.

This is a course for students who are fascinated not only by gaming, but by what makes the esports industry work.

What will I study?

The proposed Extended Certificate is equivalent in size to one A Level and consists of four units. Each explores a different part of the esports industry, giving you a much broader understanding of esports than simply competitive gameplay.

Unit 1: Introduction to Esports

Your journey begins by exploring the esports industry itself. You'll investigate how esports is organised in the UK and around the world, looking at professional and grassroots teams, competitions, games publishers and the organisations that have helped turn competitive gaming into a global industry.

You'll explore different genres of competitive games and investigate the huge variety of careers that exist behind the screen. These can include roles such as professional player, coach, analyst, shoutcaster, content creator, community manager, team manager, events manager and esports producer.

You'll also begin thinking about where you could fit into the industry by examining career pathways and carrying out your own skills analysis.

Understand the industry. Discover where you could fit within it.

Unit 2: Esports Skills, Strategies and Analysis

What separates casual gameplay from competitive performance?

This unit takes a much deeper look at skills, tactics, strategy and performance analysis. You'll investigate how high-performing teams operate, how players adapt to opponents and how individual and team performance can be improved.

You'll explore different approaches to analysing gameplay, using evidence such as game statistics, player and team records, accuracy, win/loss ratios and recorded gameplay. You'll learn how to identify strengths and weaknesses, analyse key moments and use evidence to recommend improvements.

That means thinking more like an analyst or coach than simply a player: observing performance, interpreting data and turning what you discover into strategies for improvement.

Play. Analyse. Adapt. Improve.

Unit 3: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the Esports Industry

Could you turn an esports idea into a business?

This unit explores the commercial side of esports and the entrepreneurs who have helped develop the industry. You'll investigate how esports organisations generate audiences, build brands and operate within an ecosystem involving games publishers, competitions, sponsorship, advertising, streaming, content and events.

Then you'll develop an esports enterprise idea of your own. You'll conduct market research, investigate your potential audience and competitors, develop a business plan and ultimately pitch your start-up idea.

It brings together creativity, commercial thinking and digital culture and gives you the opportunity to experience what it takes to move from an idea to a viable esports proposition.

Spot the opportunity. Build the idea. Make the pitch.

Unit 4: Health, Wellbeing and Fitness for Esports Players

High performance isn't just about what happens on screen.

Competitive esports places demands on concentration, reaction, communication and decision-making, making physical, social and psychological wellbeing important considerations for players.

You'll explore how physical activity, lifestyle, sleep, stress and psychological wellbeing can affect esports performance. You'll investigate approaches to assessing health and wellbeing and learn how information can be used to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

You'll then apply this understanding through health and wellbeing screening, interpreting results and developing appropriate recommendations.

The result is a much broader understanding of esports performance – recognising that the person behind the keyboard or controller matters just as much as the technology in front of them.

Rest. Play. Win. Repeat

Esports at a digital Sixth Form

Esports brings together many of the areas that define BOA Digital. Technology, data, business, digital culture, competitive gaming and analytical thinking all meet within one rapidly developing industry.

Throughout the course, you'll experience these connections. Analysing performance introduces you to the importance of data. Enterprise explores how digital businesses identify audiences and generate revenue. Competitive gaming develops strategic thinking and teamwork, while investigating the wider industry introduces career pathways that connect esports with areas such as games development, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cyber security, social media and event management.

It means studying esports as an industry and digital ecosystem, rather than simply as a game.

How will I study?

This is an applied qualification, so learning goes beyond listening and taking notes. You'll research real esports organisations, investigate professional teams, analyse gameplay, interpret performance data, develop business ideas and respond to practical scenarios.

There are opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively, developing skills in communication, teamwork, analysis, problem-solving, organisation and entrepreneurship.

Most importantly, you'll be expected to think critically about what you see. Why does one strategy succeed while another fails? What makes an esports organisation commercially successful? How can performance data influence decision-making? What does it take to turn an idea into a viable esports business?

How will the course be assessed?

Assessment can therefore take different forms depending on the unit and task. Rather than relying on one set of final examinations, you'll build evidence of what you know and can do throughout the course.

This makes the qualification particularly suited to students who enjoy researching, investigating, applying knowledge and producing work in response to real-world contexts.

Where could Esports take me?

The esports industry needs far more than professional players. Behind competitive gaming sits a much wider network of people working in coaching, performance analysis, team management, business, events, content, community management, technology and operations.

The skills developed also connect with careers and further study beyond esports. Pearson identifies links with related areas including cyber security, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, interface design, games development, social media management and event management.

The qualification can therefore support progression towards university, apprenticeships or employment while developing transferable skills in analysis, enterprise, communication, teamwork, research and digital technology.

At BOA Digital, you won't simply play esports. You'll analyse it, understand the business behind it and explore where you could fit into the industry.

COMPETE. ANALYSE. INNOVATE.