A visit to Bletchley Park
On Thursday 9th February Upper IV ventured into the world of secret ciphers. Mr Dellow, Head of Computing, describes the day:
‘As most of the school was preparing for next day’s Feast Day celebrations, Upper IV computing students made their way to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes. It has been said that the work carried out here reduced the length of World War II by at least two years and saved thousands and thousands of lives. As our girls enjoyed the grounds and the hands on opportunities offered in the various huts and rooms, the importance of the role of women at Bletchley Park resonated throughout the day. The links between keeping information safe in the past and present were clear to see.
The transformation of the site from a codebreaking headquarters to a visitors’ centre is a fantastic achievement. The girls managed to obtain a real sense of what it would have been like to work in this secretive place breaking codes and ciphers. Our workshop helped us to understand these secret languages a little more and made use of a real Enigma machine (worth £250,000) to demonstrate the strength of the German cipher.
There really was not enough time to visit the whole site which was a real shame. Bletchley Park is a must-visit place for the summer holidays, just make sure The Imitation Game is on your watch list before you go!’
