Barnsley College student Alfie Caunt (pictured above) has been shortlisted at the AoC Student of the Year Awards 2023. Update (October 25th): And is now a finalist.
The AoC (Association of Colleges) awards is a national ceremony that celebrates the achievements and successes of exceptional students who stand out from the crowd.
Alfie, a Barnsley College Level 3 Esports, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship student, has been shortlisted for Young Student of the Year (16 to 18-years-old) sponsored by the Edge Foundation. He was nominated for his commitment to promoting inclusion and accessibility for all in gaming.
A Barnsley College news release said that Alfie took the initiative to adapt games and controllers to make them more accessible for individuals with disabilities, and increase their physical activity levels, by using virtual reality and Hado, a VR-based game, which has just announced a partnership with BBC Children in Need.
On being nominated in the AoC Student of the Year Awards 2023, Alfie said:
“It’s an honour to be nominated for this prestigious award, it makes me quite proud. It feels so rewarding and I’m glad to be recognised, because it’s not only me, I also need to thank a lot of people around me like my tutors.”
Alfie Caunt, Barnsley College
“The College provided me with countless opportunities to get experience within the industry and assignments have been so much easier because tutors help so much. I just enjoy coming to College because I know it’s just a pleasant experience and everybody is here to have a good time.”
Barnsley College said in a press release: “He has shown great creativity and compassion in finding ways to ensure that everyone can enjoy gaming and esports, regardless of their physical abilities.”
AoC Student of the Year Awards 2023 finalists will be announced on Thursday October 19th 2023 during Colleges Week on AoC social media. The winners and runners up will be announced Tuesday November 14th.
The news comes after the Esports Awards 2023 finalists and Valorant EMEA Community Awards 2023 nominees were announced.
We’ve reached out to AoC to ask if other esports students have been shortlisted.
You can see the full list of shortlisted AoC Student of the Year Awards 2023 students here, and more info on Barnsley College’s esports courses at www.barnsley.ac.uk/esports
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.
