“We partnered with Asus Republic of Gamers, specced the arena with the best gaming chairs, screens, and machines. We physically built sim racers with proper racing seats. Students get to play games like Formula 1 or Forza, and other titles like Fifa.” (Photo: centennialschools.co.za)
Born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, Centennial Schools in Sunninghill opened in 2022 and follows the Independent Examinations Board curriculum, including additional subjects and masterclasses to help prepare learners for the modern world.
The state-of-the-art 300m2 eSports arena cost R3-million to kit out and runs on one gigabytes per second fibre internet connection with back-up generators during load-shedding. It features 30 individual gaming stations, a spectator stand, 70-inch TV screens, six Xbox motor racing stations, a lounge area to relax and in the works is a shout-casting studio.
The school requires every child to purchase an Asus laptop (three pricing tiers), use Microsoft software for lessons (such as PowerPoint and OneNote), and check in daily on the mental wellbeing app called It’sOk.
Students learn coding, have a 12-module lesson on crypto and blockchain, learn social media skills and the laws around it, public speaking, how to use Photoshop, compose music and learn marketing skills, among other modern world skills.
Founder and chief executive Shaun Fuchs established Centennial Schools drawing on his 31 years of experience in the education sector, including as managing director of Reddam House Schools, general manager of Crawford Schools and Centurus Colleges and headmaster at Crawford College Lonehill.
“Students can choose eSports as they would soccer, football or hockey, but can’t do eSports unless they’re doing one of the fitness activities like yoga, karate, boxing, CrossFit or Pilates,” says Fuchs.
“We partnered with Asus Republic of Gamers, specced the arena with the best gaming chairs, screens, and machines. We physically built sim racers with proper racing seats. Students get to play games like Formula 1 or Forza, and other titles like Fifa,” adds Fuchs. The school has a partnership with Microsoft for software and gaming hardware.
Centennial Schools has a full-time eSports teacher, a semi-professional gamer, who also teaches English, Creative Arts and Technology.
Its core is to work with learners in ways schools have not been able to in the past. It cites Pew Research that says 97% of boys and 83% of girls between the ages of 13 to 17 years identify as being a gamer of some kind, across race and socio-economic demographics.
Centennial Schools encourages team sports in the form of eSports to learn lessons and life skills beyond the classroom, which includes working with others, social skills, strategic thinking and planning, managing success and failure, time management and pro-social values.
Fuchs explained how the school gamified a World War I history lesson on trench warfare, which was built into a Minecraft world where learners had to navigate it through their PCs.
“When we marked the grade eight mid-term exams, all students scored 10 out of 10 for trench warfare, which is insane,” says Fuchs. “Let’s not be silly about it, we can’t gamify every lesson, but when you do, the students react totally differently because this is their world, and this is relevant to them.”
Learners who take up eSports also learn social media skills — what to post, what not to post, what content to create and what the law says with the aid of guest speakers. The school is currently building a shout-casting studio to teach learners how to be an eSports commentator.
School fees for grades seven to nine are R94 200 a year or R7 850 a month, and grades 10 to 12 cost R106 200 a year or R8 850 a month. Middle school began in January but will take its first cohort for grade 10 in 2023, grade 11 in 2024 and grade 12 in 2025.
Centennial Schools refers to classrooms as “learning hubs” that feature mobi-desks that are flexible and agile, depending on the lesson; and includes tiered seats, bean bags or standing desks with USB or three-pin plug points for device charging.
The school has chill zones, creative hubs that promote leadership, collaborative hubs that act as learner boardrooms, a fitness centre, yoga studio and a cafeteria. Its sports facility includes courts for basketball, volleyball and action soccer.
Learner wellness is at the forefront and the school acknowledges the pandemic will have long-term effects on a child’s mental health. As a result, learners check in daily on the It’sOk emotional intelligence app, have access to tools to help with managing emotions, and reports are sent to parents to analyse these trends.
According to the school, teachers were hand-picked for their roles and have been equipped with skills to work in a re-imagined learning landscape from an academic, emotional, and physical perspective.
There are no entrance exams or uniforms, but the school outlines a detailed code of conduct. But each learner is required to attend an interview with the principal.
“The school runs a rolling eight-day timetable with eight periods a day, so when you get back to period one, it will be on a different day — you won’t always have maths period one on a Monday.”
“Teenagers need the opportunity to exercise choice and experiment with independence in ways that ease them into the demands of early adulthood,” says Fuchs.
[/membership]