The children in Early Years went on their own hunt and an exciting tour of the Botanical Gardens to see how many different species of common birds they could spot in a morning.

Codes, ciphers, secrecy, intrigue, perseverance and collaboration are all words that spring to mind following Year 6’s day at Bletchley Park, in the company of their counterparts from the Junior School in Cambridge.

The pupils were informed and intrigued during their guided tour and, as always, were ready with their searching questions and quick answers. After a quick snack in “Hut One” it was off to the “classroom” and a chance to do some real code breaking of their own but only, of course, after they had all signed the Official Secrets Act!

The task involved firstly deciphering the Morse code and then translating the coded messages, before plotting the positions of the ships and submarines on the map, then finally trying to decide what the evasive action should be in the face of the enemy onslaught.

This was superbly realistic for the children and really brought home to them how vital the decoding of Enigma was to the outcome of the War. As ever there was not quite enough time to see everything, but a quick dip into the “Secrecy and Security” exhibition at the end of the visit cemented the link between the work that was carried out in such secrecy at Bletchley and the overt nature of the internet with which our pupils are so familiar today: and, above all, how easy it is for one small error to have catastrophic and far-reaching consequences. A fitting link with this week’s Safer Internet Day.