Croydon College offers game-changing Esports BTEC with support from “perfect partner”

With over 5,500 students, Croydon College is one of the largest providers of Further and Higher Education courses in the South East – and the College is passionate about teaching, learning, and its ability to transform lives.

The College’s staff balance the right mix of academic and industry experience, and the College’s close relationships with employers ensures that students are ready to succeed.

Croydon is proud to offer the Esports BTEC, which ensures students are ready for a career in the thriving global esports industry thanks to transferable skills like teamwork, leadership, communication, and problem-solving and strategic thinking. 

Croydon College expands student horizons with Esports BTEC and new gaming lab

Paul Marsden, Director of IT & Estates, said: “we recognised Esports as a growing area and that there was a gap in the market. Once the team had committed to a new qualification, my team had to source the IT kit.”

After considerable research it became apparent that Converge Technology Solutions (formerly known as Stone, A Converge Company) was the partner with the knowledge and experience required to bring Croydon’s vision to life.

“Converge was the only company who understood what we were trying to do,” explained Marsden. “The course had to be available within 8 months – so we needed a partner with the size and resources to deliver.” 

Croydon’s team enjoyed in-depth conversations with Converge to map out their new deployment – and Converge created a bespoke plan that met every requirement while sticking to budget.

“These conversations were not just about specs,” said Marsden. “We needed chairs, mice and lighting – and Converge understood the importance of this aspect. 

“One of the great things about this project was discussing and evolving our requirements so we could build a bespoke Esports lab. Converge’s advice was invaluable.”

Students thrive thanks to Croydon’s esports vision

The college opted for “advanced PC specs with powerful graphics cards and ample memory,” with extra cooling to ensure that students enjoyed a top-tier experience. 

Croydon’s bespoke Magma PCs use Intel 11th Gen Core i7 processors, ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics, WD Black SSDs and ASUS Prime monitors alongside Corsair 80+ Gold efficient PSUs and bequiet! coolers inside slick Fractal Design Define 7 cases.

ASUS gaming monitors, keyboards, mice and headsets meant pupils had the best gear, ASUS ROG Chariot chairs delivered comfort, and peace of mind came from locking kits for the PCs and Converge’s industry-leading on-site, next-business-day warranties.

There were networking considerations, too. “We wanted to keep these machines separate from our main network to improve gaming bandwidth and avoid malware,” explained Marsden. “We installed switches routed separately, and Converge gave us excellent advice in this area too.”

The new PCs had an immediate impact on Croydon’s eager students. Marsden said that “everyone loved the sleek designs which look the part for Esports.”

Croydon’s esports success means an expanded BTEC programme

Croydon’s ambition has paid off: the BTEC has run for one academic year, and it’s been so popular that the College expects to recruit more students.

Indeed, Marsden asserts that the new suite is “one of the coolest spaces in the College,” and its holistic approach can be seen in the included chill-out zone, which gives students a break from their screens.

“It’s likely we will expand our Esports offering,” said Marsden, “and having enjoyed such a great experience with Converge there is no reason why we won’t be asking them to provide additional machines. 

As Croydon College discovered, Converge works with customers to deliver exactly what they need in terms of components, performance and aesthetics – even when customers need top-spec PCs that push the limits to help students become leaders in their fields.

“Considering how new we were to Esports, the project couldn’t have been easier thanks to all the help and advice we received from Converge. They were the perfect partner for our new venture.”

Converge gave us confidence in their ability to get the job done from the start.

I particularly like the personal touch we had from Converge – they genuinely cared about our venture. Converge are there when you need them.