Digital Schoolhouse Splatoon 3 Tournament 2026-2027

About Digital Schoolhouse Esports

Digital Schoolhouse, powered by Ukie, together with Nintendo, provides an immersive careers education experience for students who are passionate about a career in the Creative Digital sector. Students aged 11-18 years can participate as players or fulfil professional roles crafted by the video games industry, for education. 

Together with Nintendo Switch, the Digital Schoolhouse tournaments have reached over 59,000 pupils in schools & colleges across the UK since 2017.

This immersive experience provides a unique insight into the creative digital sector, to promote homegrown talent and to enable students to aspire to careers pathways they may not have otherwise considered.

Tournament Eligibility

The tournament is open schools and institutions across the UK and there is no requirement to be part of the Digital Schoolhouse programme.

Participating students must be between the ages of 11-18 years old.

Tournament Timeline

• October 2025 - January 2026: School Heats | Format: SCHOOL'S CHOICE
• February 2026: Regional Qualifiers | Format: IN-PERSON
• March 2026: Semi-Finals | Format: IN-PERSON
• April 2026: Grand Final | Format: IN-PERSON
  
  Please note that the Regional Qualifiers, Semi-Finals, and Grand Final will be physical events taking place in-person at locations around the country. If you register for this tournament we will plan these in person events with you in mind, and you will be required to attend a Regional qualifier.

How to Register

All Entries:

• The "Refundable Deposit" option will be automatically added to your cart. Please see below for details on this deposit.

Certified Schoolhouses:

• Select the "I'm a Certified Schoolhouse" add-on in addition to the Refundable Deposit.
• Schoolhouses are required to pay the £80 refundable deposit at the time of registering.

External Institutions:

*External schools/colleges refer to academic institutions that are not part of the Digital Schoolhouse programme in the academic year 2026-2027.

• Select the "I'm an External Institution*" add-on in addition to the Refundable Deposit.
• Please note that there is a charge for external participants to participate in the tournament (£79.99 + VAT + £80 refundable deposit).

Please ensure you are selecting the correct ticket/ add-on combination. Any orders that are processed without the Refundable Deposit, or select "I'm a Certified Schoolhouse" without being part of the DSH programme will have their order cancelled.

Deposit Refunds

• Deposits are fully refundable based on attendance to a Regional Qualifier. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for full details on deposit refunds and how to claim post Regional Qualifier.

What You Will Receive

By taking part in the esports tournament, you are eligible to receive:

• Exclusive esports lesson plans & curriculum resources
• Tournament starter pack
• Free careers information & guidance

Regional Venues

• To be announced.

Technical Requirements

To run the tournament in the School Heats, Regional Qualifiers and Semi-Finals stage of the competition, educational institutions will need a minimum of the below equipment:

• 4 x Nintendo Switch 1 console (standard, not Lite version)
• 4 x copies of Splatoon 3

Hardware loans may be available to participants depending on stock availability. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Please find a list of FAQs on our website. For urgent enquiries, please contact the Digital Schoolhouse team at dshesports@ukie.org.uk

Terms and Conditions

Please read the full Terms and Conditions here before completing your registration. Upon completing registration, you will receive an email from Eventbrite with your joining instructions.