Word on the Street: Bizarre coincidence sees quiet cafe hit headlines following VCE Exam

A humble cafe in Aberfeldie has hit the headlines after an unfortunate coincidence.

The supposed fictitious Calmer Café was featured in the VCE English Exam on Wednesday morning but there was only one problem – it happens to be an actual establishment in Melbourne’s north.

Caller Stewart alerted 3AW Drive to the story after he saw the cafe offer free coffee for any year 12 student who showed their student ID card and mentioned the question.

Following the exam, students flooded the business’ social media platforms with complaints and comments.

VCAA later issued a statement, apologising for the “considerable effort and inconvenience” caused following the “inadvertent similarity” in names.

FULL STATEMENT

The Argument and Persuasive Language section of today’s VCE English examination was based on a fictional article about an imaginary business called ‘Calmer Coffee’ in ‘Benmore Village’.

The VCAA had checked and confirmed that there was no registered business with the name ‘Calmer Coffee’ prior to today’s examination.

Following the examination, a number of students have posted a large number of items on the web and on the social media accounts of a business called ‘Calmer Café’ based in Aberfeldie, Victoria. Many of the posts refer to content from the examination article.

The VCAA has been in contact with Calmer Café management and understands the posts have caused the business considerable effort and inconvenience.

The VCAA has apologised for the inadvertent similarity in business names that led to the surge of social media and web posts, and has offered its assistance to have these posts removed as soon as possible.

We know exam period is a stressful time… so all year 12 students that mention THAT exam question and show their student ID card will receive 1 free small coffee. #sharingthelove #2018exams

Posted by Calmer Days Calmer Nights on Tuesday, October 30, 2018