One of the most intriguing stories from the Second World War is how an elite group of British code breakers, led by Cambridge Mathematician Alan Turing, successfully deciphered the supposedly unbreakable German Military Code, known as Enigma. Their achievements helped safeguard Allied shipping routes across the Atlantic, and helped ensure the success of the D-Day Landings.

As part of our celebration of the Alan Turing Turing Centenary all Year 8 students were involved in a day of code breaking activities organised by Dr James Grime, from Cambridge University Millennium Maths Project. As well as a hugely entertaining presentation on the history of encryption and secret communication, the students also had the exciting opportunity to see a genuine Enigma Machine which had been used by the German army in occupied France.

The day started with a hugely entertaining presentation tracing the history of code breaking from ancient times up to internet encryption. Read the full report.