The Pilfered Quill: A mini escape room for the

classroom
by Padlox Escape Rooms

Padlox Escape Rooms bring escape rooms to schools, offering a curriculum-focussed half
day experience for groups of 30 pupils called “Escape The Classroom!” In teams, pupils rotate
around five 30-minute activities on themes of science, literature, geography, enjoy a fully immersive
‘escape van’, and a make-your-own escape game workshop. The puzzles are designed to promote
collaborative learning, creative thinking, problem solving and communication skills. Ages P6 to S4.
For more info visit www.padlox.co.uk/schools or email padloxgames@gmail.com

About this resource: The Pilfered Quill

The Pilfered Quill is a mini escape room for the classroom with the aim of promoting literacy as well
as teamwork and problem solving.

Storyline
‘Help! Somebody, anybody, please!
Professor Paige Turner here from the National Library of Scotland. Something truly terrible has
happened - a sneaky trickster has stolen our Library’s most treasured possession – Robert Burns’
quill! He used it to write his world famous poems and it is worth 10 million pounds!
We simply must get it back. All I have to go on is this note left by the trickster:
‘Only the cleverest can solve my puzzles. Prove you are worthy of the quill by getting to the end of
my trail and uncovering its secret hiding place’
I simply do not have the brains ….so the question is – can you help me?!’

How it works

To begin, split the class into groups of 4 pupils. When ready to start, read out the above storyline to
the class to set the scene and define the overall objective. Each group must then work together to
solve a linear trail of 10 escape room style puzzles. The teacher is the padlock – groups approach
the teacher with proposed solutions to each puzzle, and if correct they are given the next puzzle in
the trail to take back to their table.

After each group solves a puzzle, give them one or two of the series of letters which, once
combined and put in order, spell out the location of the missing quill. Before starting, cut out the
quill and stick it under your chair without the pupils seeing. Then cut out the ‘You have solved the
puzzle and must find where the quill is hidden. It is under the teacher’s chair.’ letters and keep them
secret. Give each group one letter after they complete each puzzle. After all pupils have completed
the final puzzle, encourage the class to work together to put letters in order (they are numbered) to
identify the location!

Each puzzle is designed to take 5-7 minutes each. The whole resource will take approx. 1hr and a
half to complete. We suggest the pupils are initially not given any further instructions beyond what’s
on the puzzle sheets. Optional clues are provided at the end of this resource, and we suggest
these are given one at a time, with a 1-minute break between clues.

Resources needed

A full print out of Puzzles 1-10 multiplied by the number of groups. Place in ordered piles on the
teacher’s desk to be handed out as and when each group solves each puzzle. Each group should
also have access to pencils (and possibly erasers!), rulers and scissors.

Further support
Teachers may want to print out the book jackets of the following books. The book titles are the
answers to some of the puzzles and can be available around the classroom as additional clues:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Worst Witch
The Nowhere Emporium
War Horse
The BFG
Wonder
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

To begin hand out Puzzle 1 to each group…

Puzzle 1 Can you work out this book title?

23 8 9 3 8 2 9 7 3 1 20 8 1 19 1 13 1 14 5 ?

23 8 15 13 1 11 5 19 16 15 20 9 15 14 19 9 14
1 3 1 21 12 4 18 15 14 ?

23 8 5 18 5 4 15 25 15 21 8 1 14 7 25 15 21
18 3 12 15 20 8 5 19 ?
Puzzle 4 Read the poem then decode the word for healthy food!

Grandpa’s Soup
Jackie Kay

No one makes soup like my Grandpa’s,

with its diced carrots the perfect size
and its diced potatoes the perfect size
and its wee soft bits –
what are their names?
and its big bit of hough,
which rhymes with loch, floating
like a rich island in the middle of the soup sea.

I say, Grandpa, Grandpa your soup is the best soup in the whole world.
And Grandpa says, Och,
which rhymes with hough and loch,
Och, Don’t be daft,
because he’s shy about his soup, my Grandpa.
He knows I will grow up and pine for it.
I will fall ill and desperately need it.
I will long for it my whole life after he is gone.
Every soup will become sad and wrong after he is gone.
He knows when I’m older I will avoid soup altogether.
Oh Grandpa, Grandpa, why is your soup so glorious? I say
tucking into my fourth bowl in a day.

Barley! That’s the name of the wee soft bits. Barley.

1, 7, 4 = N
19, 9, 7 =
7, 5, 5 =
9, 14, 3 =
3, 7, 2 =
2, 6, 7 =
17, 10, 1 =
8, 10, 2 =
11, 4, 3 =
21, 9, 4 =
Taken from: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/grandpas-soup/
Puzzle 5 Find someone who likes books!

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers; 01 edition (6 Sept. 2016)

Puzzle 6 Decode the sequences and find the book title

TMG
7th Letter of 2nd Word =

HPATPS
2th Letter of 1st Word =
5th Letter of the 5th Word=

CW
1st Letter of 2nd Word =

HTTYD
2nd Letter of 3rd Word =

PJATLT
3rd Letter of 1st Word =

KK
4th Letter of 1st Word=
Puzzle 8 What’s the book title?

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

P4 H6 O15 F7 D12 X7 U12 X4 P17 L9 V9 V12 S16 D7 C17 G4 P8 I16 N5 E15 X6 G6 E16 F4
J8 W6 S14 P15 K15 L15 D4 D8 X8 J4 W9 W4 M13 M15 G14 E14 V17 J6 W14 P5 S12 Q17 G15 P6
P12 F5 Q15 N8 U15 G9 W12 L5 V5 K6 D6 D15 M14 O4 I12 G12 Q14 L12 P9 K12 V14 L8 L17 K14
C14 F8 M16 U16 S15 T9 W17 G13 V6 O14 B6 E17 N6 D5 H4 T4 B7 F6 T6 T7 H17 I13 O17 M17
V4 M12 I17 U14 B8 J9 E13 C6 Q12 P7 I14 U13 C13 K13 N4 K7 L6 J7 T5 S13 T8 F9 K17
G16 H9 G17 B4 K4 Q16 O9 J5 B9 O12 C16 O13 X9 B5 L4 N7 N9 S17 D9 Q13 C15 U17 I15
Puzzle 10 Who said this? Cut carefully
The Pilfered Quill
Puzzle solutions and clues
Puzzle 1: 1=A cipher
Solution: Intuit that 1=A, 2=B and so on; decipher the digits back to letters. The letters spell out
three questions; the three answers lead to a book title, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE
WARDROBE.
Clues:
2a. Tell the pupils that 1=A.
2b. Tell the pupils that 2=B.

Puzzle 2: Definitions
Solution: Using pencil and ruler, link up the words with their definitions, making straight lines
between the red dots. The lines run through 10 letters which lead to a book title THE WORST
WITCH.
Clues:
3a. Check that each line drawn slices through only one letter.
3b. Draw a circle round each of those letters to help the book title pop out.

Puzzle 3: Maze
Solution: The only route to reach one of the ‘END’ spaces spells out the book title THE
NOWHERE EMPORIUM.
Clues:
4A. A copy of the book cover could be made available in the classroom.

Puzzle 4: Line-word-letter
Solution: Each set of 3 digits identifies a line, a word on that line, and a letter in that word. Find
all the letters and spell out the word NUTRITIOUS.
Clues:
1a. The first number tells you which line of the poem to look at.
1b. The second number tells you which word on that line to look at.
1c. The third number tells you which letter in that word to write down.

Puzzle 5: Spot the difference

Solution: Missing letters are R, E, A, D, E and R.
Clues:
5a. Six letters are missing in the right-hand picture.
5b. Unscramble the six letters to make the word for some who reads books

Puzzle 6: Sequences
Solution: Each sequence relates to one of the pictures. Identify the sequences then choose one
letter from one of the words in the sequence, as instructed. The letters spell the book title War
Horse.
Clues:
 6a. The capital letters are the first letters of a sequence of words, for example HTTYD is
How to Train Your Dragon.
6b. Copies of the depicted book covers could be made available in the classroom.

Puzzle 7: Follow me
Solution: Using a pencil, link up the symbols in the order shown; beginning each of the five sets
separately. Image emerges of THE BFG.
Clues:
7a. Make sure to begin each of the five sets of symbols separately.
7b. A copy of the book cover could be made available in the classroom.

Puzzle 8: Grid squares

Solution: Using a pencil, colour in the squares in the grid as indicated at the bottom of the page.
Words emerge giving clue to book title WONDER.
Clues:
7a. Make sure to begin each of the five sets of symbols separately.
7b. A copy of the book cover could be made available in the classroom.

Puzzle 9: Hero-Villain
Solution: Cut out the squares on page 2 and place them in the order on page 1. In each row on
page 1, one square indicates the book – place the squares in the correct row and column. Once
in order, the red letters can be read (left to right) to spell out the book title DIARY OF A WIMPY
KID.
Clues:
9a. If Lyra is the hero, who is the villain?
9b. Once your grid is in order, read the red letters starting at Matilda and going left to right.
9c. Copies of the book jackets could be made available in the classroom.

Puzzle 10: Jigsaw

Solution: Cut out the pieces and rearrange the quotation; the highlighted letters spell out the
author ROALD DAHL.
Clues:
10a. Cut out the pieces, complete the jigsaw and write down the pink letters to find a
famous author.