Code breakers at Bletchley Park - Hurstpierpoint College

Code breakers at Bletchley Park

Shell and Remove Johnians enjoy tour, workshop and exhibits

Last Wednesday, Shell and Remove Johnians visited Bletchley Park, the home of code breaking in World War Two. The day was split into three parts: a guided tour of the grounds, a workshop on code breaking and ciphers, plus some self-guided time to explore the exhibits. 

The engaging guided tour covered the history of the top-secret institution, as well as highlighting the role of key personalities who worked at Bletchley. Many questions were asked by the students, and the tour was extremely helpful in explaining the process by which codes were intercepted, deciphered and then acted upon. During the self-guided time, students visited the “huts” where the code breaking took place, including the office of Alan Turing. 

The highlight of the day came when our students participated in a codes and ciphers workshop and were able to use (and take a selfie with) a genuine enigma machine to code their own initials. 

“There was far too much to see and take in for one day, and many of the students said they would like to visit again in the near future to delve into the history even deeper” Liam Agate, Director of Academic Development.