When my students arrived at Shrewsbury Prison for our overnight residential, they were singing and dancing on the coach.
An hour later they were in prison jumpsuits, choosing their cells for the night.
Each cell contained nothing but a metal bunk. The heavy doors clanged shut. The reality of the environment settled in.
The aim of the trip was simple: to bring criminology and psychology to life. Students took part in escape-room challenges across A Wing, explored the history of punishment through a guided tour, and debated the realities of prison life in the same corridors where inmates once walked.
But the most interesting learning moment of the trip did not happen during the formal activities. It happened later that evening when the structure faded away.
Learners from different classes, many of whom had barely spoken to one another before, began playing games. Hide and seek echoed down Victorian corridors. Small groups gathered on landings talking and laughing together in what could only be described as impromptu circle time.
At first glance, it looked like chaos. In reality, it was something much more valuable: play.
Resilience and independence
In education we often associate play with early years. Somewhere around the age of 11 we quietly remove it from the learning environment and replace it with seriousness, structure and assessment. But teenagers still need play.
Psychologist Peter Gray has long argued that play is one of the primary ways young people develop social competence, resilience and independence. Through playful interaction, young people practise negotiation, cooperation and emotional regulation in ways that structured activities rarely replicate.
In other words, play is not a distraction from development, it is part of the mechanism that drives it. What I witnessed in that prison wing was exactly that process happening.
Students who normally sit in separate classrooms were suddenly mixing naturally. Conversations were flowing. New friendships were forming. Students who can sometimes be quiet or withdrawn in lessons were confidently participating in group games. The environment had changed, and with it the dynamics between students.
A prison, a space historically designed for isolation and control, had unexpectedly become a place where connection and community flourished.
Of course, the trip had taken weeks of planning, risk assessments and organisation. Experiential learning always does. But moments like that remind me why it matters.
Further education students are navigating one of the most complex periods of their lives. Many are managing anxiety, uncertainty about the future and the pressures of adulthood arriving fast. In that context, opportunities for genuine social connection are not just enjoyable, they are developmentally important.
Play allows teenagers to experiment socially without the pressure of performance or assessment. It gives them a space to negotiate friendships, develop confidence and regulate emotions in ways that traditional classroom environments often struggle to facilitate. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds them that learning environments can be human.
Bringing people together
When we reflected on the trip afterwards, several learners said they would happily do it again.
What stood out was how aware they were of the way the evening had unfolded socially. Some even complimented classmates for starting the games that brought everyone together.
What began as hide and seek soon evolved into sardines, with students squeezing into the same hiding places and encouraging others to join in.
Perhaps most importantly, some of the younger learners said they now felt they had someone in the year above they could approach if they needed support. In a single evening, students who had barely spoken before had created connections that may last far beyond the trip itself.
As educators we often talk about engagement strategies, retention and wellbeing initiatives. Sometimes the solution is simpler than we think.
Give young people a space where they feel safe enough to laugh, explore and play together and learning will follow.
That night in Shrewsbury Prison certainly proved it.
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