Computer games for learning

"Modified computer games aimed at disaffected learners could help win the war against poor basic skills.
Computer science teachers at West Nottinghamshire College were struggling to get their teenage students into literacy and numeracy classes. So they took apart Atari's popular computer game Neverwinter Nights and rebuilt it with educational challenges the player must meet to progress. Success rates in key skills at the Mansfield college has trebled to 94%."

Interesting article, but:

1) How come this happened near me, but the first I heard of it was from an American game developer's weblog?
2) Why is Mansfield considered to be West Nottinghamshire? Nottinghamshire is a tall and narrow county with Mansfield near the top.
3) Neverwinter Nights is not an Atari game, it's a Bioware game. Atari were just the publishers. Nobody of importance talks about "New Line's 'Fellowship of the Ring'" or "EMI's 'Abbey Road'" so it shouldn't apply to games either.