On Thursday 14^th June, 35 local and trainee mathematics teachers experienced what it was like to be a codebreaker for the afternoon. We were joined at the University by Tom Briggs, the Learning Manager at Bletchley Park. He took us through an engaging and informative session about the various types of cryptography ranging from Morse code, Caesar ciphers and Affine shifts.

A particular highlight of the afternoon was seeing a real-life Enigma machine that was used at Bletchley Park, most notably during WW2 but also the one that used by Benedict Cumberbatch, the famous actor who played Alan Turing in The Imitation Game! We also got to use empty Pringles tubes, scissors and glue to make our very own Enigma machines and code our own secret messages. As well as being an original and fascinating session, the teachers in the room relished the opportunity to be a pupil for a while but also got some great ideas to take back to their own classrooms to get young people in the area to think creatively about mathematics and codebreaking.