Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Esports League HSEL Extends Reach to High Schools in AU and NZ

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/27/20

An esports league company is spreading its high school footprint outside of North America. Generation Esports (GenE) has taken its High School Esports League (HSEL) to Australia and New Zealand.

The new HSELANZ will engage students through organized competitions and provide academic opportunities. HSELANZ kicked off this week with an esports tournament, featuring high schoolers playing against peers in four online games: Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Valorant and Clash Royale. The tournament is free, and winning teams gain free entry to the summer season. However, league participation does have a fee, starting at AU$120/NZ$129 per student for an annual pass.

HSEL uses "Gaming Concepts," an esports-based curriculum developed by two educators at Maize Unified School District 266, a Kansas school district. The content, created by Complete High School Maize Principal Kristy Custer and Social Studies Teacher Michael Russell, covers learning standards in areas such as careers in gaming, maintaining healthy practices, self-management and interpersonal communications, as well as an overview of esports gaming and complete lesson plans. According to GenE, the same curriculum will be used by HSELANZ.

"What we bring to Australia and New Zealand is a proven educational program that embraces students' passion for video games and shapes it into an understanding of the esports industry," said Hugo Diegues, representative of GenE in Australia and New Zealand, in a press release. "Our aim is not to encourage students to leave the classroom but to entice them to enhance their academic learning with the addition of a gaming class that may be utilized by those wishing to pursue a career in the industry."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    With AI, Cybersecurity Focus Shifts from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's biggest challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • Engineering team implements digital guardrails on AI

    3 Starting Points for Integrating AI Guardrails in K-12 Districts

    As education leaders start to craft an AI policy that is both practical and flexible enough to evolve with this fast-changing technology, there is at least one principle that should be foundational: AI should serve to augment human critical thinking and creativity but never replace human interaction and decision-making.

  • interconnected blue glass cubes

    Anthropic Expands Enterprise Deployment Options for Claude Desktop

    Anthropic is introducing new enterprise deployment options for Claude Desktop, saying organizations that use the app through Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Foundry can now access the full desktop experience across chat, Claude Cowork, and Claude Code.

  • Top View Shot in Elementary School Computer Science Classroom

    Education's Top 5 Technology Priorities and the Challenges Standing in the Way

    Cybersecurity ranks as the No. 1 priority for education technology leaders in the United States, according to the latest State of Ed Tech report from CoSN, yet insufficient cybersecurity staffing and the lack of a dedicated budget are key barriers.