Alan Turing

Who Was Alan Turing?

Alan Turing (1912-1954) was a British mathematician and codebreaker who helped win World War Two by solving puzzles that seemed impossible.

During the war, the German military sent secret messages in code. The code was so complicated that it seemed unbreakable. But Alan loved puzzles, and he worked with a team at a place called Bletchley Park to crack the code.

They built a machine called "the Bombe" that could test millions of possible answers really quickly. Thanks to Alan and his team, Britain could read the secret messages and make better decisions during the war.

After the war, Alan helped invent computers and asked the question: "Can machines think?" His ideas helped create the computers and phones we use today.

Turing's lesson for children: Really hard problems are often just puzzles waiting to be solved — if you keep trying and think creatively.

What Can Children Learn from Alan Turing?

Teaching Alan Turing to KS1 Children

Age-Appropriate Focus

For ages 5-7, focus on Turing as a puzzle-solver rather than discussing cryptography details or the tragic injustice he faced later in life. Children this age understand "solving a really hard puzzle".

Real-World Applications

• Solving jigsaw puzzles by trying different pieces
• Working out how a magic trick is done
• Learning to read by figuring out new words
• Finding patterns (like in maths or nature)

Fun Facts for KS1

• Alan was a brilliant long-distance runner and nearly made the Olympics
• He chained his tea mug to a radiator at work so no one would take it
• The test to see if computers can "think" is called the "Turing Test" after him
• Alan appears on the £50 note in Britain