Then the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition is for you!

The Alan Turing Cryptography Competition is aimed at secondary school children in the UK up to Year 11 (England and Wales), S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland). You don't 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!

The competition is organised by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Manchester.

Whilst in previous years we ran a central competition with entry restricted to teams from UK schools, we now simply provide the puzzles for students anywhere in the world to try, or for teachers to use as a resource for running their own competition within their school.

Sounds great! How can I take part and what do I have to do?

The upcoming version of the Alan Turing Cryptography Competition opens on Monday 12th January 2026 at 4pm (UK time).

Prior to the competition opening, puzzles from previous years will be made available for practice.

Who was Alan Turing?

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.

Why is cryptography important?

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.

MathsBombe 2026

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. Visit the MathsBombe site for details.