Pupils Crack Codes and Succeed in Maths Challenges

Pupils in the Second Form visited Bletchley Park, which was Britain's top code-breaking centre and credited with shortening World War II in Europe. It was purchased in 1938 to house the Government Code and Cypher School. There were 23 bombe machines at Bletchley Park, costing just over £1,000,000 each.

After WW2 ended all the bombe and enigma machines were destroyed, so that the government could make sure that Bletchley Park’s real intentions and activities would remain a secret. In the 1970s its true undertakings were revealed to the public. 7,500 people worked on the site during the war; 6,000 of them were women. While present, people learnt many languages within a very short period of time to help with the deciphering.

During our visit we went to the restored Codebreaking Huts 3, 6, 8 and 11 where Enigma messages sent by the German Army and Air Force were decrypted, translated and analysed for vital intelligence. In these realistic huts, the atmosphere was recreated with rooms dressed to resemble what they once were when code-breakers worked there. We were lucky enough to have a knowledgeable tour guide who gave us an in-depth idea of what it was like to live and work on the campus and also took part in a code-breaking mission! This was a fascinating and captivating five-star experience!

Reece Barton-Lake, Second Form

MATHS CHALLENGES

Three students in each year from the Second to Fifth Forms represented Reed’s in the Guildford Schools Maths competition. 14 schools participated and there were a variety of problem-solving challenges the boys had to complete, including a relay and a currency round. Our pupils were excellent ambassadors for the School. The Fourth Form were placed 9^th; the Third Form were placed 8^th; the Second Form tied 4th with RGS and the Fifth Form also placed 4th.

A team of three Lower Sixth Form Further Maths students and a Fifth Form pupil participated in the UK Maths Trust Senior Team Maths Challenge hosted by St John the Baptist School in Woking. The team of Ian, Max, Jonathan and Alan competed in a variety of rounds, including a challenging cross number round, a shuttle round, and a group problem-solving round. The team finished 6th out of 19 teams. Congratulations to the students for this excellent result and for being excellent representatives for the School.                                            

Amanda Alkema, Maths department