The one code to rule them all! Students solve hobbit themed ciphers at Rossall School’s code breaking day!
We were delighted to welcome students from schools across the Fylde to take part in our Hobbit themed code-breaking day.
Pupils from 20 primary schools took part in the event, which saw them exploring and solving messages written in a range of codes based on symbols, the alphabet, transposition and substitution methods.
Working as a fellowship, the youngsters tackled ‘precious’ messages, learning to decode notes encrypted in the ‘zig zag’ style rail fence cipher, the substitution code Vigenere cipher and the Caesar cipher, said to have been used by the Roman emperor in his own correspondence.
More than 100 pupils participated in the cryptography competition, and with no magical rings allowed, the teams of four faced a tough challenge when it came to being the quickest to crack the codes.
The team from St Michael’s on Wyre CEP eventually triumphed, solving over 18 of the codes in a record time. Breck School took second place and Moor Park Primary School third.
As well as cracking codes, pupils were also tasked with creating a code-related poster for the event. The standard of entries was high and it was very difficult for Rossall’s head of art, Sarah Holder-Williams to judge. She eventually chose Nateby Primary School as the winners for their excellent cipher-inspired poster.
As well as cracking codes, pupils were also tasked with creating a code-related poster for the event. The standard of entries was high and it was very difficult for Rossall’s head of art, Sarah Holder-Williams to judge. She eventually chose Nateby Primary School as the winners for their excellent cipher-inspired poster.
As well as cracking codes, pupils were also tasked with creating a code-related poster for the event. The standard of entries was high and it was very difficult for Rossall’s head of art, Sarah Holder-Williams to judge. She eventually chose Nateby Primary School as the winners for their excellent cipher-inspired poster.
Rossall Maths teacher Carole Huijnen, who organised the event said: “The students threw themselves into the code-breaking challenges we set them. I was very impressed with the speed and accuracy of the pupils and their ability to work effectively in teams.
“Code breaking requires logical thinking, problem solving skills and team work, so it’s a fun and exciting way to get youngsters to think differently about how mathematical thinking skills can be used.”
