Bletchley Park Code-breaking Trip Thursday 29th March 2018
On the last day of term, 24 year 9 students went to Bletchley Park for a grand day out!
Bletchley park was the secret location of the mathematical code-breaking activities in WWII that shortened the war by two years and saved thousands of lives.
We had a great time using our maths skills to solve some difficult code-breaking challenges and we had great fun exploring the park. We were given a tour and heard many interesting stories and facts about what life was like for the code-breakers working secretly at Bletchley Park during the World War Two. The interactive displays were excellent and transported us back in time to the 1930’s. We were shown an original Enigma machine used by the Nazi’s to encode their military information.
The students were a credit to the school, engaging with all the tasks enthusiastically and we are particularly proud of Milosz for reading an inscription in Polish. This is the first time someone from a school party has been able to read the inscription which recognises and honours the work of the Polish Mathematicians who were the first to start the process of cracking the Nazi Enigma codes.
Involving
Students from Year 9
Aspect of SMSC
Moral Development
Social Development
Cultural Development
Reason for event
This trip provided an opportunity to see maths being used in the real world. To understand the value of code-breaking in war efforts and national security. Students could empathise with the working and living conditions in that period of history and gain an insight into having to keep the official secrets act.