Year 5 Code Breakers

On Tuesday 22 March Year 5 went on a trip to Bletchley Park. When we first arrived, we had a workshop that reminded us how to stay safe online. We were warned about phishing emails and how to detect them. We then had to turn into code breakers and solve a variety of challenges in a short amount of time. We were shown the Enigma machine that the Germans had invented during WWII and we were allowed to type our initials into it. We all enjoyed it very much.

The next part of the trip was to look at the Bombe, this was the machine we invented to crack the Enigma codes. There was a smaller version you could see up close. The man who was in charge of that section actually turned the replica on so we could see all of the electronic parts move. It was really interesting and very loud.  After our yummy lunch, we went to see the huts where most of the staff would have worked during the war. There were interactive screens that we could experiment with, some had artefacts that were glued to the table. It was set up as it would have been during the war with old fashioned phones and typewriters.

We even saw Alan Turing’s office – the most famous codebreaker!  Finally, we had a guided tour and we went inside the mansion. We were told about the lives of the staff at Bletchley. They all did very important work and had to keep quiet about their jobs to their friends and family. It must have been a real challenge. It was a fascinating place to visit and we would definitely recommend it

By Ben & Louis