Mrs Inkson (Year 5 Teacher)
On Thursday 8th November, Year 5 had an exciting visit to Bletchley Park, as part of our Unit of Enquiry on World War ll. Dressed as evacuees, the girls were transported back in time to the 1940s to experience what life was like for workers at Bletchley Park.
We visited the many different huts, home of the codebreakers and learned how the Enigma code was cracked. Women made up a large proportion of the workforce during the war and it was fascinating to find out some of the many different roles they played. One job some of us particularly fancied was that of a despatch rider – collecting intercepted messages from coastal radio stations and then transporting them through the countryside to Bletchley Park on motorbikes. The women had to not only drive through the blackouts and avoid being caught by enemy spies, but also had to be mechanics in order to maintain the bikes!
A real highlight of the day was taking part in a simulated wartime codebreaking activity. After signing the Official Secrets Act, it was a race against time to decipher the coded messages, and use the information to plot where enemy ships and submarines were. The girls showed excellent communication and teamwork skills under pressure!
