Forty Year 10 students refused to let a Tube strike derail their Thursday and their determination was rewarded. Navigating alternative routes across London with admirable good humour, our students arrived at The Crystal Maze Experience ready for action.

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, The Crystal Maze Experience is inspired by the iconic 1990s television series. Over the course of more than 60 minutes of what the venue itself describes as "frantic, frenetic, silly team fun," participants run, quite literally, through four themed zones, attempting challenges against the clock to win crystals. Each crystal earned translates directly into seconds of time inside the legendary Crystal Dome at the end of the challenge, where teams must grab as many golden tokens as possible while powerful fans blast them around the dome.

Guided by their own personal Maze Master, students ventured through four distinctly themed zones, each with its own character and set of challenges. The Medieval zone, demanded pure pattern recognition and deductive reasoning. The Industrial zone presented a world of cogs and mechanical conundrums requiring spatial reasoning and problem-solving. In the Futuristic zone, sleek and high-tech in atmosphere, it was systematic thinking and logic that won the day. Finally, the Aztec zone brought ancient temples, hidden clues and physical agility into the mix, where strategic thinking and clear communication between teammates was crucial for success.

The competitive spirit between teams was fierce, wonderfully good-natured and at times genuinely hilarious. Crystal counts were monitored with the kind of intensity usually reserved for exam results. Staff may have got more than a little swept up in events themselves.

A huge well done to every student who made the journey on what was not the easiest travel day. You showed resilience, creativity, brilliant teamwork, and reminded us all why learning beyond the classroom matters so much.