Maths Week and the Secret World of Codes and Codebreaking

For Maths Week, where the whole school celebrates the wonders of mathematics by taking part in lots of exciting events and completing puzzles around the school, we had the brilliant Dr James Grime come and talk to the parents and Senior School pupils about the history of coding, computing, and the use of Enigma machines in World War II. This included a full demonstration of an original Enigma machine used by the Germans, found in a French field in the 1940s, as well as illuminating the room with the brilliant mathematical insights and innovative thinking of the great Alan Turing. It finished with a workshop all about codebreaking, which really inspired our pupils and opened them up to a whole new way of thinking about mathematics and computing. It was the perfect way to celebrate our annual Maths Week.