The Soton Cypher Challenge
Mrs Bennet, Head of Maths, announces some exciting news from the Cipher Club:
‘Cybersecurity is often in the news. This week, the government announced a free training course in London for people looking for a career change to become codebreakers as part of its £1.9 billion National Cybersecurity Programme. In a move reminiscent of the War Office’s use of a cryptic crossword to recruit for Bletchley Park in 1942, the government hopes to identify 50 brilliant brains using psychometric tests.
Whilst our pupils might not be quite at this stage yet, members of the Cipher Club are already practising their decryption skills as they participate in the annual Soton Cypher Challenge, run by the University of Southampton. We have two teams signed up and participating:
The Lower V Cipher Guild comprising Mariella King, Woon Sim Tan and Miku Nakayabu and
the Upper IV Priory Decoders, who are Katie Fung, Rin Aota, Naomi Jeffries and Toluwani Sangosanya.
The incredibly addictive challenges, which become increasingly difficult each week, are released on Thursdays at 3.00pm, with points being awarded for how quickly correct solutions are submitted.
So far, over 7,000 pupils across the country have registered to take part and we are looking forward to the weeks ahead to see how our teams do!’
The Cipher Club, run by Mrs Bennet, takes place every Friday lunchtime in Maths Room 1 – take part and enjoy the challenge!
