Code cracking pupils set to compete against 1,000 teams

The code cracking students from Burnley's Blessed Trinity RC College

Four teams from Blessed Trinity RC College are through to the fourth round of the University of Manchester’s Alan Turing Cryptography Competition.

Maths teacher Rachael Boyce said:"The students have had to be incredibly determined each week to crack the code, including using knowledge of Morse Code and Pascal’s Triangle which is outside the school's curriculum.

"They are looking forward to the next codes which are increasing in challenge each week.

"We hope to complete the competition and visit the University of Manchester for a live code breaking event in April.

"This is the first year we have competed against 1000 other teams across the UK and we hope to compete every year now."

Year Eight student Nimra Shafqat said: "It makes you think a lot.

"We get the codes to solve on our iPads and sometimes they can take an hour to crack or, if they are tricky, it can take a lot longer.

"You really have to think out of the box."