07 Nov Codebreaking with Dr James Grime
On Tuesday 6th November 2018, internationally renowned British mathematician and public speaker Dr James Grime joined us for a day of spectacular codebreaking history – most specifically the Enigma machine of WW2 – and mind-boggling activities to show our students exactly what a day in his life is like!
With a real Engima machine set up on stage, Dr Grime guided classes 6, 4, 3, 1 and a few of our class T through the mechanics of this incredible war relic, showing us exactly how it worked and why it proved such a challenge for code breakers to solve.
With curious minds ignited inside the P&HCH, Dr Grime was eager to highlight that the breaking of the Enigma Code during WW2 wasn’t just a man’s game. It was, in fact, down to the diverse mix of intelligent minds and disciplines, men and women, working together. This message was particularly close to our hearts, as only a few months ago we were celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the arrival of the first girls to Le Rosey during our Women’s Talk.
After the morning’s presentations, classes went off to engage in some proper code-breaking of their own, designing and cracking codes and devising careful strategies and techniques. Our thanks to Dr Grime for joining us at Le Rosey – inspiring the next generation of secret agents and specialists.