GCHQ tests North West’s future code breakers
The lesson tested problem-solving skills and highlighted the value of thinking differently – themes highlighted in the agency’s new book Puzzles for Spies.
The agency has partnered with children’s mental health charity, Place2Be, for the event, whose Royal Patron is The Princess of Wales.
In partnership with children’s mental health charity Place2Be, connection made by Kensington Palace and The Royal Foundation, the lesson lifted the lid on codebreaking skills using puzzles from the organisation’s recently published puzzle book for children, Puzzles for Spies, which focusses on languages, engineering, codebreaking, analysis, maths, coding and cyber security.
Place2Be provide embedded mental health services for 450 UK primary and secondary schools, including for the students from St Margaret’s C of E Primary School in Whalley Range who took part in the lesson. The charity supports a school community of around 240,000 children and young people. The Royal Patron of the charity is HRH The Princess of Wales, whose Royal Foundation receives proceeds of GCHQ’s puzzle books.
Liz, Deputy Director for GCHQ Manchester, said:
We have set up our newest office right in the heart of Manchester to break down the barbed-wire barriers of the past. It’s allowed us to work alongside industry and academia in new and exciting ways, giving us fresh perspectives on some of our biggest challenges.
Manchester and the North West is an emerging tech hub with one of the largest student populations in Europe with a vibrant and diverse community. So it is a great place to tap into existing talent in the area while also sharing our expertise with local communities through events like these.
Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be, said:
Problem-solving encourages creativity, ingenuity, and imagination - which are all vital skills for growing and thriving into adulthood. Helping children to solve problems for themselves encourages them to develop resilience in the face of adversity, and helps them to become more confident, independent and successful in their own right.
Heron House, which opened in late 2019, is the home to our newest offices in Albert Square in the heart of Manchester, contributing to an already thriving technology scene. The hi-tech premises sees the agency using cutting edge technology and technical ingenuity to identify and disrupt threats to the UK while allowing us to draw on the talents of companies and people in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the UK. The offices come complete with public space designed for welcoming local technology start-ups and innovators to collaborate with us on some of the biggest tech challenges of the day.
The lesson is part of GCHQ’s wider outreach work in the North West. The city centre offices regularly see young people aged 12-18 attending its CyberFirst programme, run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ. The courses help young people explore their passion for technology and to learn first-hand what a career in cyber security looks like.
GCHQ’s Puzzles for Spies book now also comes with its own free resource on Twinkl, where teachers and parents can download a lesson plan which covers exciting puzzles and topics from the new book.
