there could crack the code. we re going to see who actually makes it through. elm green school in south london. the students mission, should they choose to accept it, try and solve the gchq christmas card puzzle. it s different to what we normally have to do in school. yeah, but that s how you get the three words. we don t do much, like, code breaking, so it s. something different. gchq is the uk s intelligence security and cyber agency. traditionally, each year it includes a brainteaser on the christmas cards it sends out. but this christmas, for the second year running, it s also set a festive, mind bending challenge for school pupils. if two equals growth and six equals exist, then nine is what seven letter word which describes what you ll be doing with your presents on christmas day?
to encourage kids from all backgrounds to consider a career in the intelligence services. here s tim muffett. elm green school, in south london. the students mission, should they choose to accept it, try and solve the gchq christmas card puzzle. it s different to what we normally have to do in school. yeah, but that s how you get the three words. we don t do much, like, code breaking, so it s. something different. gchq is the uk s intelligence security and cyber agency. traditionally, each year it includes a brainteaser on the christmas cards it sends out. but this christmas, for the second year running, it s also set a festive, mind bending challenge for school pupils. if two equals growth and six equals exist, then nine is what seven letter word which describes what you ll be doing with your presents on christmas day?
it s brutal oppression and we see, even nowadays in the countries that are under communist regimes, that they are dealing with similar things. and what we have witnessed in ukraine by the russian soldiers, but they are doing there, we know that the russians are the legal successor of the ussr, which was based on communist ideology. so any that the killings and transportation of children, ravings, all these brutal things that are happening over there this is very clear that it s connected and history unfortunately tends to be repeated. 0k, unfortunately tends to be repeated. ok, it s been really good to have you on, thanks for answering our questions today. the intelligence agency gchq has released a set of codebreaking puzzles for school children to crack, as part of a christmas challenge. the agency traditionally includes a cryptic brain teaser on its christmas cards but has recently started aiming puzzles at children too,
of a cartoon character called colin. hi, tim. it s colin here. so, colin, what impact do you think these puzzles will have? so this year, the christmas card has puzzles covering different skill sets, including languages, engineering, analysis and codebreaking. what qualities are you looking out for? the qualities needed are ingenuity, analytical skills, perseverance and an inquiring mind. in a sense, solving the challenge replicates what we need to be able to do in gchq, but in a fun way. along with m15 and m16, gchq says it wants to widen its recruitment net. whilstjob candidates still need to be british citizens, as of last month, they no longer need to have british parents. the agency also wants more neurodiverse candidates to apply. people with conditions such as autism, adhd and dyslexia. gchq says different ways of thinking are key to keeping the uk safe.
how are you finding it? we re finding it quite exciting, actually. yeah, it s really fun, thinking outside the box and actually making your brain think a different way. i thought it would be quite maths orientated, but it s actually like quite a lot of codebreaking and puzzling and stuff like that. so, these puzzles have been set by an actual intelligence officer who works for gchq. we can hearfrom him, but for obvious reasons we can t show his face. so he s going to appear in the form of a cartoon character called colin. so this year, the christmas card has puzzles covering different skill sets, including languages, engineering, analysis and codebreaking. the qualities needed are ingenuity, analytical skills, perseverance and an inquiring mind. in a sense, solving the challenge replicates what we need to be able to do in gchq, but in a fun way.