Each chapter also has a number of spot prizes: for each chapter, spot prizes (of 10 Amazon gift vouchers per team member) can be won by up to 5 randomly chosen teams – but youll have to be fast: spot prizes can only be won before the next chapter is released!
Would you like the chance to use your mathematical skills to win some great prizes?
The competition is organised by theSchool of Mathematicsat theUniversity of Manchesterand sponsored bySkyscanner.
Want to come over to Manchester for a bit of live crypto stuff, the prize ceremony and an opportunity to meet the organisers?
Cryptographical techniques are used everywhere in modern everyday life. For example, Whatsapp and many similar programmes use encryption to prevent eavesdropping, many websites use encryption to process credit card payments securely, and banks use it so that people can safely do their internet banking at home.Hereyou can find a quick introduction to cryptography.
Now in its seventh year, the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition is aimed at secondary school children up to Year 11 (England and Wales), S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland). You dont need to be a computer whizz or a mathematical genius – you just need to keep your wits about you and be good at solving problems! (Seeherefor eligibility.)
(See theFAQandrulesfor how the prizes are determined and how they are sent out.)
The Epilogue serves to conclude the story. It contains a code for you to break, but no points can be earned for the leaderboard.Is released!SolutionsIs released!Announcing
The website for that new edition, to start in January 2019, appears in Decemberhere. If you would like to receive a reminder around that time by email please lookhere. For any particular enquiries you can contact us on cryptogra.uk.
Do you like breaking codes and solving ciphers?
(See theFAQandrulesfor how the prizes are determined and how they are sent out.)
Competitors may find a printer helpful, but this is not essential.
Then the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition is for you!
Now that youre an expert cryptographer, youll want to show off your new skills in person! Join us at the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester onWednesday 25th Aprilfor plenty of code-breaking action, a live cryptography mini-challenge, and the prize ceremony for the competition winners!
In his relatively short life,Alan Turing- code-breaker, mathematician and founding father of computer science – made a unique impact on the history of computing, computer science, artificial intelligence, developmental biology, and the mathematical theory of computability.
Each member of the teams that finish in first, second and third place on the leaderboard win 30, 25 and 20, respectively, in Amazon gift vouchers, and the teams schools will win a trophy.
The prizes are kindly sponsored by the flight search companySkyscanner. Skyscanner was set up by two former computer scientists from the University of Manchester, two people who directly benefited from Turings contributions to Manchester and computing.
If your team are the first to solve any of the six chapters, then each team member wins 15 in Amazon gift vouchers.
The competition follows the story of two young cipher sleuths, Mike and Ellie, as they get caught up in a cryptographic adventure The Tale of the Morphogenesis Mystery. Every week or two a new chapter of the story is released, each with a fiendish code to crack (seeherefor the release dates). There are six chapters in total (plus an epilogue to conclude the story). Points can be earned by cracking each code and submitting your answer. The leaderboard keeps track of how well each team is doing. (See theFAQfor how the scoring works.)
The competition starts onMonday 15th January 2018, and you can register your team (or join an existing team)here. A team consists of at most 4 members. It is also possible to register as a `non-competing team, for instance if youre a teacher who would like to follow the competition or if some members of your team are too old to take part. Registration opens onFriday 1st December 2017(you can request an email reminder on theregistration page). See thethis sectionfor more details.
Mike and Ellie will return for a new adventure next year!
MathsBombe is the sister competition to the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition. Aimed at A-level students and those taking Scottish Highers or those taking GCSE, the competition features a series of mathematical puzzles to solve. Seeherefor details.
Can you, and your friends, unravel the Morphogenesis Mystery?