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" Video games often distract from school, not the other way around. The guy behind the incredibly successful &amp;quot;Tomb Raider&amp;quot; franchise is out to change that.  Ian Livingston, seemingly never short on good ideas, wants to set up a free school that teaches children from ages 11-18 how to code so that they have a valuable skill for today&amp;#039;s job marketplace. He argues that most computer learning courses in Britain focus far too much on office skills rather than actual computer programming, saying &amp;quot;&amp;quot;We are at a crossroads. Do we want our children to be controlled by technology or do we want them to control technology?&amp;quot;. This is coming from the same guy who thought it might be a good idea to watch a lively brunette raid tombs all over the world in short-shorts and a tank top, so maybe he DOES have an idea of the public&amp;#039;s absolute best interests.  The school would be open to anyone and free of charge and would focus on games and game theory (problem solving, strategic decision making, entrepreneurship) as opposed to memorizing &amp;quot;random facts,&amp;quot; as Livingston puts it. He most certainly has a point: I can barely remember most of the capitals of Europe (is Helinski one of them?) but I can distinctly remember maneuvering Lara Croft through several tight ledges.  Crude humor aside, teaching code and the basics of game theory to an already digitally native generation is an extremely intelligent idea. We do live in an age where entire newspapers are being bought for $250 million (Washington Post) and simple social apps are turning down $3 billion offers (Snapchat); isn&amp;#039;t it about time the education system reflected that? If it gets the go-ahead this January from England&amp;#039;s Department for Education, The Livingston School would open in September 2015 and would be located in the same area of Hammersmith, London that Livingston and his friend Steve Jackson started their first company, the massively popular Games Workshop. Originally just a Dungeons &amp;amp;amp; Dragons resale company that operated out of their apartment, they sold that company for 10 million.  Not bad for a couple of gamers. Here&amp;#039;s hoping they can inspire the next generation with another similarly brilliant idea. With or without short-shorts and a tank top.  [Evening Standard] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a26256/tomb-raider-school/>