35 students from HSDC’s Havant Campus recently embarked on an extracurricular trip to Bletchley Park, the centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War.
The trip was open to both first and second year students studying A Level mathematics or computer science, and was designed to assist them with their courses.
Students on the trip were split into two different groups based on their choice of learning session. The two sessions were titled ‘Story of Enigma’ and ‘Codes & Ciphers’, with each giving students incredible insights into the role of Bletchley Park during the war.
The ‘Story of Enigma’ session focused on how the Allied Codebreakers were able to break the infamous German Enigma code. Whilst the Germans believed the Enigma cipher was unbreakable, the Codebreakers were able to prove them wrong because of human error, complacency and predictable message formats.
The trip to Bletchley Park was a fantastic way to enrich the students’ education.
Students in this session examined the Enigma code and were tasked with figuring out what made the cipher so effective at the time, and calculated the exact number of possible key settings per message. Not only did this session focus on the mathematical side of Enigma, but also allowed students to explore the historical context that made Bletchley Park one of the most important places of the 20th century.
The second session, ‘Codes & Ciphers’ focused on the story of how codes and ciphers have been used throughout history, going as far back as the time of the Ancient Greeks. These students encountered a range of historical codes that they had to decipher, focusing on teamwork and the application of their mathematical thinking skills.
Both groups of students were given the rare opportunity to use a genuine Enigma machine, seeing firsthand how the cipher proved so difficult to decode during the war.
Student Maryejli thoroughly enjoyed the trip, saying:
“As an international student, I love the out of school activities that HSDC organises. Sometimes one can learn more outside of the classroom, and the College understands this very well.
First year student Zack said:
“The trip was definitely worth the journey. It was so cool to see the interesting exhibits at Bletchley Park, and was fantastic to learn more about how the codebreakers solved the German Enigma Machine.”
The trip provided an interactive and engaging experience for all the students, enriching their understanding of mathematics and computing whilst allowing them to explore a vital part of British history.
Click on these links if you would like to study Mathematics or Computer Science at HSDC Havant.