A vital piece of Britain’s wartime heritage visited a Suffolk school on Thursday as part of its science week.

A captured Enigma machine, used by the Germans to send coded messages in the Second World War, helped the British decipher their secret communications about forthcoming attacks.

And pupils at Holbrook Primary School got to see one of the devices up close when it was brought along by Dr James Grime from the Cambridge University.

Class teacher at the school Richard Williams said: “As a computing teacher this was the highlight of my week.

“The children and I learned about the birth of computers and the amazing science behind their development.

“The children found this enrichment experience to be very rewarding – they all want to work for MI5.

“We are proud that our school is able to offer such a wide variety of quality learning activities.”

Dr Grime said: “I was very impressed with the pupils at Holbrook Primary School. This is a really exciting use of maths. it all about spies, secrets and is great fun for all ages.”

Parents were also invited to the presentation by Dr Grime with many staying on at the school into the evening for a screening of The Imitation Game, the film about cracking the Enigma code.