Norwegian high school adds esports to the curriculum

A public high school in Norway revealed last week that eports will be included as a subject in its curriculum from the beginning of the next academic year, August 2016.

The school, known as the Garnes Vidaregåande Skule, will offer the subject as an elective, and after hosting a poll on their Facebook page the subjects were decided. The poll included titles like Dota 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike Global Offensive, which is unsurprising given their vast popularity in the eports community. Games such as Smite and Call of Duty were also proposed, but it was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends that got the majority of the votes.

In an interview with Dota Blast Science Department Manager Petter Grahl Johnstad said: "There will be a high degree of self-education when it comes to progressing your game, and the game room will be available during the day and evening time."

"Keyboards, gaming mice and headsets are personal and will be both bought and owned by the students themselves," explained Johnstad. "This is regarded as personal equipment and follows each pupil's unique style. We will not meddle with students' preferences when it comes to this equipment. We also plan to create a distinct look for the gaming room with décor and nice details that set the mood for gaming. After all, our students are going to spend a lot of time studying there."

Given the rapid rise in popularity of esports we fully expect to see more schools offering similar programs (and in the US there are already colleges that offer esport-related scholarships). They'll also undoubtedly prove popular with high school students who, even if they don't have an ambition for esports stardom, will likely choose a subject where they get to play games rather than memorise textbooks.