A group of HN Computing students just came back from a two-day educational trip to Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing (TNMoC).

The fun and educative experience started as the group made their way from Luton Airport straight to Bletchley Park and carried on through to the final evening with a visit to the huge Indoor Trampoline Park.

Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, is the wartime home of Alan Turing and the wartime code breakers and was used as the setting for ‘The Imitation Game’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The group visited the film set, including the wartime pub, Cdr Alastair Denniston’s Office and a replica of ‘Christopher’.

Students also attended an hour-long “Codes and Ciphers” workshop during which had a unique hands-on experience using a real, original wartime Enigma machine. They were also given a demonstration of the Bombe performing code-breaking operations.

The exploration of TNMOC galleries, under the expert guidance of museum staff, took students back in time. In the area that is closed to the public, they discovered different landmark computers, which can now be used to demonstrate computing processes. One student, Torin, had the privilege of starting up the calculations on the oldest original working digital computer in the world.  Others played a selection of vintage computer games and tried their hand at programming in BASIC.

Finally, they discovered one of the latest exhibitions, “The Road To Bletchley Park” sponsored by BAE Systems, which tells the story of the secret war leading up from WW1 to the formation of Bletchley Park.

Students were enthused by this exceptional trip and more than ever eager to expand their knowledge in computing and other fields.

“This trip helped broaden my knowledge not just on Computing but of British and World History too. I would definitely recommend following years of students to attend these destinations!” – Blair, HN Computing student

“It's amazing to see that the massive super computers of the past are still nowhere near as powerful as the tiny phones in our pockets today.” – Leigh, HN Computing student