On Thursday 23 July, our Year 11 VET Business students took their learning beyond the classroom with an exciting excursion to Escape Hunt Melbourne. This hands-on experience supported their current unit on collaboration and communication skills, providing students with the opportunity to apply workplace competencies in a fun and challenging environment.
Upon arriving in the city, students met Xavier from Escape Hunt Melbourne, who introduced the experience and shared some helpful tips and strategies for tackling the escape rooms. Students were then divided into three teams and assigned different themed rooms to complete.
Although many students were eager to choose their own groups, I deliberately selected the teams to ensure a balanced mix of strengths, abilities, and personalities. This approach gave every student the opportunity to work with classmates they may not normally collaborate with. While some students were initially hesitant, they quickly adapted and developed positive working relationships throughout the challenge. It was particularly pleasing to see students display maturity, respect, and inclusiveness by working successfully with peers they may not have chosen themselves. This experience encouraged students to build new connections, strengthen their teamwork skills, and appreciate the value of working effectively with a diverse range of people.
Three team leaders, Georges, Christel, and Emma were appointed to coordinate their groups. Each leader received a briefing from Xavier outlining their room's storyline, which involved solving mysteries, investigating alien lifeforms, or uncovering the secrets of the zodiac. Armed with a walkie-talkie to communicate with staff outside the room, each team worked against the clock to complete a series of puzzles and challenges. The countdown timer in each room certainly added to the excitement and pressure.
The activity provided a valuable opportunity for students to demonstrate the workplace skills they have been developing throughout the unit, including effective communication, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making. Success depended on every team member contributing ideas, listening to others, and working collaboratively towards a shared goal.
While all groups demonstrated determination and persistence, only one team successfully completed all challenges and escaped their room before time ran out.
The escape room experience was both engaging and rewarding, allowing students to reflect on the importance of collaboration in real workplace situations while having plenty of fun along the way. It was fantastic to see students supporting one another and applying their business knowledge in such a practical, memorable, and enjoyable setting.
Below are some student reflections about their experience:
Daniel – I really enjoyed the excursion because it helped me understand that the escape room was similar like businesses in real life you have to work with people you don't talk to a lot and you have to finish the work. it was interesting to be team and face the challenges
Layla – We enjoyed finding all the different clues, although it was challenging to find the last clue, we were able to escape with 10 minutes extra time.
Emma – Today's excursion was fun and full of chaos. My group did the Law and Order room, which was set in the Prohibition era. We had to solve puzzles and riddles to escape and solve the murder mystery. It taught us how to work together as a team. It was very hard and challenging, but in the end, we escaped successfully.
Sophie – Today at the escape room was a fun and challenging experience. It taught us the importance of teamwork, communication, and thinking creatively to solve problems together.
Iman – Today's excursion was very enjoyable, and we got to work with each other to complete different challenges. We all had fun and worked well as a team.
Marvin – We enjoyed finding the mystery and concluding our search. It was challenging, exciting and it lured us all in
Rami – I enjoyed solving the difficult riddles and the team I worked with as I wouldn’t usually have chosen
Lily – Today's excursion showed me how important teamwork and communication are. It was a fun experience, and I enjoyed working together with everyone.
Isaac – It was very fun and a bit challenging
David – It was very challenging with the team putting their all
Tasnem – We had a great time at the escape room today. It was a fun way to build teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Mike – Today's excursion was very fun I enjoyed the excursion we build team work and problem-solving skills We all had fun and worked well as a team.
Emmanuele – it was a great experience involving problem-solving, teamwork and challenges. my group did the law and disorder which was very fun and challenging.
Christel – Todays experience was one to remember. Our class learned how to work with different people effectively, considerably in a fun environment that allowed us to think outside the box and challenge ourselves.
Georges - It was very fun everyone was committed and challenging
- Ms Cayla Gara