The short version
This is a low-pressure coding game: three rooms, fifteen locks. A pupil writes a Python program,
types its answer on an on-screen keypad, and the lock opens if the answer is right. Nothing needs marking.
The puzzles use the skills from the Software Design and Development unit (files, records, sub-programs, standard algorithms),
plus a little Computer Systems (two’s complement), so they are practice for the course as well as a game.
Before the lesson
- Pupils open this site’s escape page in a browser (the class teacher will give you the address, or use the link on the course home page).
- On a shared computer, press Reset this computer at the bottom of the page first. Progress is stored in the browser, so a previous class’s locks may still be open.
- Each pupil downloads
escape-pack.zip, extracts it (right-click, Extract All…), and opens the extracted folder in PyCharm (File > Open).
- Pupils work individually or in pairs, whichever the class teacher has said. Either way, each pupil should be typing code.
During the lesson
- You can see progress at a glance: the bar at the top of the page shows locks open (for example 7 / 15) and the exit-code letters filling in.
- Everybody should finish the Staff Room. Opening 4 of its 5 locks unlocks the Server Room, and 3 of 5 there unlocks the Vault. The final exit code needs all 15.
- After 3 wrong answers on a lock, a hint appears. The keypad also makes pupils wait a few seconds after each wrong answer, so guessing does not work.
- If a pupil is stuck, ask them to test their program on the small example shown on the lock. That fixes most problems.
- Pupils may help each other. “Explain it to me” is a good question to ask.
- When all 15 locks are open, the page shows the finish screen and a printable certificate.
Suggested timings (120 minutes)
- 0–10 min: reset the computers, download and extract the pack, open it in PyCharm.
- 10–45 min: Staff Room. This is a warm-up; most pupils will clear it in 25 to 35 minutes.
- 45–55 min: short break at roughly the halfway point (stretch, water, check lock counts).
- 55–110 min: Server Room, then the Vault for anyone who gets there. Opening all five Vault locks is a stretch and not everybody will, which is fine.
- Last 10 min: ask pupils to show you their lock count, and ask each one which lock they found hardest and why.
If the technology fails
- The page will not load or the zip is blocked: use the pack on the shared drive if the class teacher has put one there. Inside it,
check.py works offline and puzzles-offline.html holds the puzzle text.
- PyCharm will not open: pupils can read the puzzle text and write their solution in pseudocode on paper, then show you.
- Printed copy: the Print puzzle sheets button at the bottom of the page prints every lock without the keypads.