Barnet and Southgate College digital education partner NextGen Skills Academy (NextGen), is formally collaborating with BAFTA’s Young Game Designers (YGD) competition to inspire the UK’s budding game makers.
BAFTA YGD programming will be embedded into the NextGen Games, Animation and VFX Skills courses of over 15 Further Education colleges across the country, of which Barnet and Southgate College will be one. This major new collaboration marks the first moment BAFTA has directly supported the development of curriculum planning in schools, underscoring its mission to nurture the next generation of creative talent
Starting this September, BAFTA YGD will deliver a series of industry-led masterclasses and panels to over 650 NextGen students aged 16-18 throughout the academic year. The sessions will focus on raising awareness of accessible career pathways into game design, building focused positive engagement with young creatives, and encouraging involvement in the YGD competition. Students will also be invited to an end of year Graduate Showcase at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in 2023.
BAFTA YGD is a year-round initiative of public events, workshops and a competition for 10-18 year-olds, culminating in the annual YGD award ceremony and showcase. Over the last decade, BAFTA YGD has provided numerous networking opportunities for budding game-makers to showcase their creativity, nurture confidence and encourage future careers in the games industry, and highlights the positive effects that gaming can have on young people to their communities; including parents, teachers, and peers.
NextGen is driven by industry, and underpinned by education. Since its founding in 2014 by government, the creative industries, and educators, it has developed vocational qualifications and training in partnership with employers. NextGen students are inspired by industry engagement and learn the fundamental technical and artistic skills needed to build games, create animation, and produce VFX. NextGen currently works with 15 Further Education centres in England to bring industry masterclasses, technical challenges, remote work experience, and showcase events to young people studying the NextGen AIM Qualifications Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX Skills.
Marcia Deakin, Co-Founder at NextGen Skills Academy, said:
“We are delighted with this announcement as BAFTA YGD and NextGen have shared values of supporting and promoting young talent and increasing diversity within the creative industries. Game design and development led by industry is a key part of the NextGen course. This collaboration is a great opportunity for our students to further hone their skills and get involved in the amazing YGD initiative. We can’t wait to get started!”
Luke Hebblethwaite, Head of Games at BAFTA, said:
“BAFTA are pleased to work with NextGen across the breadth of their activities for young people. At their recent Graduate Showcase, we saw real talent and dedication, and speaking to the students about their work was heartening. For 10- to 18-year-olds, BAFTA YGD is a vital competition, which helps talented participants to discover their passion for coding, drawing, or writing for games. It makes perfect sense for us to align with an organisation that inspires, supports and celebrates the future talent of our industries, as well as promotes the scale and variety of roles available for career starters in the games industry.”
Sanya Mihaylovic, NextGen course leader at Barnet and Southgate College, said:
"We are delighted to be one of the first colleges in London to deliver this NextGen cutting edge course. This collaboration with BAFTA will undoubtedly give our current and future students even better prospects for a successful career in the thriving Games industry. "
The image used in this news item is a still from an animation by Alexander De Freitas Vicente, a Barnet and Southgate College student on the Level 3 NextGen Extended Diploma in 3D Animation, Games Design and VFX Skills.
