Photo credit: Strathallan School
Strathallan School has launched its new esports suite, giving pupils at the Perthshire school in Scotland the ability to train and compete against each other for the first time.
The school says it has ‘elite’, state-of-the-art gaming and esports equipment as it hopes to inspire students to turn professional.
Strathallan’s four racing rigs were installed by sim racing specialists SimStaff, which has provided support to brands such as Samantha Tan Racing, Gfinity and Formula One.
SimStaff CEO and founder Josh Martin, who is also a competitive racer, said: “This is a truly exciting opportunity for the school. Strathallan now has four racing simulators, on which pupils can play a wide variety of games and familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of esports and the opportunities this presents. I can definitely see some great competitions brewing at the school.
“This is a truly exciting opportunity for the school. Strathallan now has four racing simulators, on which pupils can play a wide variety of games and familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of esports and the opportunities this presents.”
Josh Martin, SimStaff
“Esports has grown massively over the last few years. It has gone from being largely hobbyist to full-time careers, scholarships and global partnerships with major brands. The potential is enormous. Formula One, the teams engaged and other sporting bodies are offering paid opportunities for players to compete with them virtually. Hopefully, over time, we will see even more opportunities become available for the next generation of gamers.”
The news comes after Esports Scotland partnered with Dundee and Angus College ahead of the 2025 arena launch.
“It’s a great time to be a student at Strathallan,” added former pupil Josh Martin.
Driving forward esports at the school, Neil Hamilton, head of instrumental music, commented: “When I was asked if I would get the project running, I was thrilled. This is such a progressive move for the school and really demonstrates that they are aware of what pupils are interested in currently.
“This is such an amazing asset for the school and the pupils seem to wholeheartedly agree. A superb addition to their boarding experience. Who knows, we might see some pupils playing for Scotland on the international esports stage in the future.”
Esports in education has ramped up across the UK in recent years, with Strathallan being the latest of several schools, colleges and universities to have their own esports space.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
