Want to learn and succeed with Video Games? This is the place for you.
Bristol is a diverse and vibrant city that’s home to some of the UK’s leading creators and entrepreneurs. We want to inspire and equip another generation through our centre of excellence in video games design for neurodiverse young people.
Our Bristol venue feels like a smart tech startup or a games design studio led by experienced pros. We help students re-engage in education as they turn their own ideas into real video games, learning valuable skills and achieving commercially desirable qualifications along the way.
At EOB Academy Bristol, students explore modules including concept art, character modelling, user experience, 3D graphics and more in an environment that’s specifically designed for students with SEND or those struggling to attend mainstream schools (EBSA). We offer Level 1, 2 or 3 certificates and flexible placements to meet students where they’re at.
For a lot of students, gaming, music or fashion is just what they’re into now. Our curriculum lets students be who they are. We don’t need or want them to mask their real feelings and behaviours – we help them turn their own authentic interests into employable skills and qualifications. The experience of being accepted for who they are and successful at what they love is transformational for young people.
In Bristol, we have dedicated staff with a wealth of industry experience as well as qualified teachers who specialise in SEND. As you’d expect, all our staff undertake regular safeguarding training and ongoing CPD, and we have our own internal quality assurance process based on the Teachers’ Standards. You couldn’t ask for a stronger team around your students.
Our focus on attaining commercially desirable RSL or NCFE qualifications alongside social and emotional learning is one thing that sets us apart. When students see an idea of their own come to life it disrupts the downward spiral of perceived failure, low self-esteem and disengagement from education – and they start to get excited about their own potential. Later, we can help your students navigate the transition into post- 16 opportunities through our network of industry partners.
A few things I’ve learned as an adult are that it’s important to listen without judging, to be confused without giving up straight away and that it’s just as important to ‘feel’ deeply and ‘do’ stuff skilfully as it is to think intelligently. I’ve found that in alternative provision there are some of the best opportunities to put that learning into practice and do education differently – nowhere more so than at Enemy of Boredom Academy. The level of attention to each individual learner’s needs, the energy and creativity in curriculum design and the focus on developing vocational skills with commercial partners all make for a truly unique experience. Along the way, I’ve been a student at the University of Cambridge; worked for a real-life Bond villain; trained as a counsellor; taught maths, psychology and led the development of teaching and learning in secondary schools; coached leaders for the Department for Education (DfE) where I learnt much more about SEND, as well as at big companies like PwC and Siemens; travelled all around the world and learnt about other cultures; and been a home educator of two curious and unstoppable younger humans.
Peter Goodman, EOB Academy Head Teacher Bristol.
I started EOB Academy nearly ten years ago as part of my mission to create inspirational places of learning for students with SEND.
Our students need to ‘see it to believe it’ and with professional guidance at our Bristol venue under the leadership of Peter Goodman Students will be going through a full video games production cycle. They’ll be a part of releasing real games to the global market. I call it ‘the college of real practice’. Through my own lived experience I know that if we’re providing the right environment, passing on the correct skills and having fun at the same time then our neurodiverse students will flourish.”
Steve Godwin, EOB Academy Creator and CEO