- Title: UK wartime codebreaking centre turns to cyber education
- Date: 24th November 2016
- Summary: BLETCHLEY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF DERELICT OLD BUILDINGS IN BLETCHLEY PARK, USED BY BRITISH CODEBREAKERS IN WORLD WAR TWO (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF QUFARO, TIM REYNOLDS, SAYING: "Bletchley Park we felt was a natural home for a cyber security college because it's building on the innovation and the work that took place in the Second World War, bringing it up to date and making it relevant again." INTERIOR OF DERELICT BUILDING, WHERE FIRST MESSAGES INTERCEPTED ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST HALL WAY PAN TO DEBRIS ON FLOOR OF STAIRCASE VARIOUS OF PAINT PEELING OFF WALLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF QUFARO, TIM REYNOLDS, SAYING: "What we are looking to do is to wrap around all of the expertise that currently exists along with the educational support that they are going to need, to ensure that they're either industry ready or university ready. So, this will be a one-stop shop where the outcome, or output in terms of students, will be ready for whatever path they choose to take." VARIOUS OF WORKING REPLICA OF COLOSSUS COMPUTER, DEVELOPED BY CODEBREAKERS TO DECRYPT RADIOTELEGRAPHY MESSAGES FROM THE NAZIS AND THE LORENZ CIPHER MACHINE PAPER READING (English): "MOST SECRET U" VARIOUS OF COLOSSUS VARIOUS OF TRUSTEE - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF COMPUTING, MARGARET SALE, SWITCHING ON COLOSSUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) TRUSTEE - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF COMPUTING, MARGARET SALE, SAYING: "It will have a different feel because the world is so different. Now we know what is in people's speeches before they even sometimes know it themselves. So much has changed, that it must, it must be different - but basically it's still the same thing. It's making sure that you are one step in advance of your enemies." VARIOUS OF LORENZ CIPHER IN DISPLAY CABINET (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF QUFARO, TIM REYNOLDS, SAYING: "The impact of the work that happened at Bletchley Park - some think shortened the war by up to two years. If we can have a similar impact from the people we are producing and developing and nurturing here, we will be delighted." VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF BLETCHLEY PARK BUILDINGS
- Embargoed: 9th December 2016 01:46
- Keywords: Spy School Enigma Alan Turing Bletchley Park Codebreakers cyber school
- Location: BLETCHLEY,BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: BLETCHLEY,BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Education,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00159SWTAF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:It was once the home of Britain's codebreakers during World War Two. Now more than 70 years later, Bletchley Park is preparing to host the UK's first national college of cyber education, with a first intake of students starting in September 2018.
Work is under way to revamp several derelict buildings on the site where mathematician Alan Turing cracked Nazi Germany's "unbreakable" Enigma code.
The new school for 16 to 18-year-olds, which will sit beside the historical attraction and the National Museum of Computing, will take 100 students in its first year. Forty percent of their curriculum will consist of cyber studies.
The plan for the school, which will be part publicly and part privately funded, was unveiled by Qufaro, which calls itself a not-for-profit body formed by cyber security experts, as part of an initiative to establish a UK national cyber security hub.
"Bletchley Park we felt was a natural home for a cyber security college because it's building on the innovation and the work that took place in the Second World War, bringing it up to date and making it relevant again," said Tim Reynolds, deputy chairman of the National Museum of Computing and a director of Qufaro.
Selection for places will be through talent spotting and an entrance exam. Qufaro expects 90 percent of students to board at the school.
"What we are looking to do is to wrap around all of the expertise that currently exists along with the educational support that they are going to need, to ensure that they're either industry ready or university ready," Reynolds said.
"This will be a one-stop-shop where the outcome, or output in terms of students, will be ready for whatever path they choose to take," he continued.
While Bletchley Park attracts visitors, some of its buildings are in need of work, with smashed windows and peeling paint.
Among those who have helped save it from disrepair is Margaret Sale, whose late husband Tony led the rebuilding of a replica of Colossus, the world's first electronic computer, used to decipher codes sent from the Lorenz Cipher, a machine used by the Nazis.
The 84-year-old, who still volunteers at the National Museum of Computing, hopes the new college will help preserve the Bletchley Park legacy.
Asked about the difference between the site's codebreaking past and the college's future work, she said: "It will have a different feel because the world is so different. Now we know what is in people's speeches before they even sometimes know it themselves."
"So much has changed ... But basically it's still the same thing. It's making sure that you are one step in advance of your enemies." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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