On 3 March we took 30 Year 8 pupils to the National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) in Bletchley Park. Pupils who came are all enthusiastic about computing and are interested in computer science. On their activity day at the museum pupils took part in a wide variety of workshops.

They tried some codebreaking, explored the Bombe computer co-designed by Alan Turing to break the German Enigma code during WWII, and learned about Morse code.

Pupils built their own version of the classic game Snake by writing a programme on BBC Micro computers. To quote one pupil when they first saw them: “Where’s the mouse?”

In one workshop pupils learned about AI and robots and took part in a Turing Test - was the person they were talking to a computer or a person? It was not always that easy to figure out!

Pupils also took a guided tour of the museum and learned all about the different computers there, from the Witch (the oldest functioning computer in the world), to the Bombe, to Colossus. The museum is home to the world's largest collection of computing history. Most importantly, there is an exhibit of retro gaming which pupils enjoyed immensely.

Pupils had a great time at the museum and our guides praised them highly for their exemplary behaviour.  We hope to run this trip again next year!

Miss Rudd, Teacher of Computing and IT