Be Brave, Be Kind, Be You: How Belmont Mill Hill Prep Is Going to the School Esports World Championships

School Blog Profile | DAIGON Esports | SEWC 2026

The scholarship group had finished their prep. They had worked hard, done everything they were supposed to do, and now they had some time. So they went to Uonna Atytalla, their Head of Computing, and asked if they could play Minecraft.

That was it. That was how it started.

No budget meeting. No strategy document. No vision. A group of children finished their scholarship preparation and asked their teacher if they could do something they loved. A few months later, Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School qualified for the School Esports World Championships.

“It was really just like that,” Uonna says.

Be Brave, Be Kind, Be You

Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School sits in Mill Hill Village in north London, part of the Mill Hill Education Group, one of the most respected school communities in the country. It was commended for Independent Prep School of the Year at the Independent School Awards. The school that emerged from that recognition is one built on three words: Be Brave, Be Kind, Be You.

“These values are far more than words on a wall,” Uonna says. “They are lived and breathed by pupils and staff every day. We strive to create an environment where children feel confident to take risks, supportive of those around them, and comfortable being their authentic selves. Belmont is a place where character matters just as much as achievement.”

The school believes children become who they are when they feel known. “We believe children thrive when they are happy, known and supported,” Uonna explains. “By providing a nurturing environment filled with opportunity, encouragement and challenge, we give pupils the confidence to discover their strengths, explore new interests and develop a strong sense of self.”

Esports did not arrive at Belmont through a leadership initiative or a technology strategy. It arrived because a group of children asked a question and a teacher said yes.

The Children Did It Themselves

When Uonna came across the IAPS x DAIGON Esports Competition, she saw an opportunity. But what happened next surprised even her.

“The children have done it all themselves, really,” she says. “It was more me just managing them than anything. They got themselves into teams. They gave each other roles.”

Four teams formed and entered the competition. The children identified each other’s strengths and allocated tasks accordingly. Training sessions were built around parkour work to develop confidence with movement, then strategy, then the team dynamics that come from playing together and learning what each person does best. Nobody told them to do any of this. They just did it.

Belmont is, by its own description, a very sporty school. Rugby, cricket, swimming, athletics. The co-curricular offer is broad and competitive. But more than half of the pupils who came to esports last year were not part of any sports team. They were children who had not yet found their thing.

“It was a really good opportunity for students who don’t necessarily get involved in those traditional sports,” Uonna says. “It gave them the chance to play in a team, to work alongside other people, to develop their communication and collaboration skills within an environment that they’re more comfortable working in.”

The sessions filled up. One week they were playing. The next week, some of them came back wearing t-shirts they had made for themselves.

“They believed in themselves,” Uonna says. “More than anything.”

The Girls Team and the Fixture That Got in the Way

Last year, Belmont ran four teams of seven. Among them was a team made up entirely of girls. They were good. They qualified seventh in their competition. And then, in the final round, they had a sports fixture they could not miss.

They never got to finish what they started.

“It’s a shame,” Uonna says. “They could have probably done well as well.”

It is an honest admission, and it sits with her. One of her goals for the programme going forward is to rebuild that girls team. Right now, only one girl is involved. Last year there were seven. “It’d be nice to have that again,” she says. “I think that would be one of the targets.”

The Last Match and the Wait

The moment Uonna will not forget from the qualifying campaign is not a victory. It is the uncertainty that came before knowing.

In the second to last round of the competition, the team found themselves placed second. Then they looked at who they would be playing in their final game: the current champions. They played. They lost. And then they waited.

“They weren’t sure if they’d actually gotten through to the top five,” Uonna says. “Breaking the news to them a couple of weeks later was quite exciting.”

The school did not see it coming either. The deputy head had not even known the esports programme was running. When the qualification was confirmed, the reaction was genuine surprise.

“On the first time we compete,” Uonna says, “we qualified.”

Dell Computers and Their Own Mice

There is no dedicated esports suite at Belmont. The programme runs on standard Dell computers, the kind found in most school computing rooms. The keyboards are nothing special. But the players who competed last year brought something of their own: their gaming mice.

It is a small detail that says something larger. These were children who cared enough to bring their own equipment. Who took the club seriously enough to treat it like a team.

“They were really resilient,” Uonna says. “There were a lot of technical problems at the beginning. The fact that they managed to overcome that and still do well was really good.”

Minecraft, as one teacher in this series put it, can run on a potato. What matters is not the hardware. What matters is what the children bring to it.

Thirteen Years Old and Going to Malta

The team heading to Malta is seven players from Year 8 and Year 9. They are thirteen years old. They will be among the youngest competitors at the entire event, standing alongside senior school students from across the world at the School Esports World Championships.

There is something else worth noting. The team that qualified for SEWC 2026 has already left Belmont. They have moved up to Mill Hill School, the senior school in the same group. They are no longer in the same building every day. But in November, they are coming back together to compete as the team they built at prep school, for the school that gave them the chance.

“I think they’re going to be really nervous,” Uonna says. “They’re going to see the setup. I’ve shown them the video. But I think when they actually get there, they will be very focused on making sure they do well.”

She knows this group. She has watched them from the beginning. She is not worried about them.

One Step at a Time

When asked about the ambition for Malta, Uonna does not reach for a target or a result. She has watched her students lose a match they needed to win and still make it through. She has watched them come back wearing t-shirts they made for themselves. She knows what this group is like.

“Let’s just get to Malta and see what happens,” she says.

The longer ambition is something she returns to more than once. She wants Belmont to become a regular presence at the world championship. She wants the programme to start younger. She wants the girls team back. She wants the children who are currently in Year 6, watching this group from a distance, to know that there is a pathway waiting for them.

“We already have some very keen students that are aiming for that,” she says. “So that’s good.”

What Belmont Is Building

Belmont is a school where a group of children who had finished their scholarship prep asked if they could play Minecraft, and a teacher said yes, and something remarkable happened. A school where students who had never been part of a competitive team found one. Where four groups of seven competed and supported each other. Where a girls team came close and a question remains open about what they might have done.

“We want people to feel that Belmont is a caring community where every child is known, valued and supported to thrive,” Uonna says. “Through a wealth of opportunities, pupils develop confidence, resilience, communication and collaboration skills, while building friendships and discovering their passions.”

The three values are Be Brave, Be Kind, Be You. The children who asked if they could play Minecraft did all three. They were brave enough to try something new on the world stage. They were kind enough to support four teams instead of one. And in Malta, in November, they will be exactly themselves.

“Qualifying for the School Esports World Championships is something we never imagined would happen when we first started playing Minecraft at Belmont. Finishing 4th in the IAPS x DAIGON competition was an amazing achievement, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished as a team. We’ve worked hard, supported each other and learned so much along the way. Now we’re excited to represent Belmont Mill Hill in Malta and see how far we can go.”

A student, Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School

“Our participation in esports reflects our commitment to helping every pupil find an area in which they can thrive. Just as sport, music and drama provide opportunities for pupils to develop and excel, esports enable students to build teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and resilience skills in a modern and relevant arena. Importantly, it offers a meaningful opportunity for pupils who may not be involved in traditional sports to represent the school, contribute to a team and experience the sense of belonging, camaraderie and shared achievement that comes from working towards a common goal.”

Jennifer Lumsden, Deputy Head Academic, Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School

Belmont Mill Hill Preparatory School competes in Minecraft Capture the Flag at the School Esports World Championships 2026, Malta, November 18 to 23. Belmont qualified through the IAPS x DAIGON Esports Competition.