Lady Nicola Turing, wife of Alan Turing’s nephew Sir Dermot Turing, officially launched the newly named Turing NW Maths Hub at the hub’s lead school on Tuesday 18 June.

Ashton on Mersey School in Sale hosted Lady Turing along with guests from the Department for Education, the school’s parent body The Dean Trust, and other partners of the hub, as it celebrated its name change. 

Turing NW is one of the 37 Maths Hubs which form a network across England. The hub serves schools across Greater Manchester and has already worked with hundreds of teachers to benefit thousands of pupils.

Known since 2014 as North West Two Maths Hub, the hub changed its name following a newly established link-up with the Turing Trust, an organisation run by Alan Turing’s family to provide computers in developing nations.

The new name pays tribute to the famous mathematician and codebreaker, whose links with the North West were established when he became an academic in the University of Manchester’s Department of Mathematics after WW2.

At the launch event, Tarun Kapur, CEO and Academy Principal of The Dean Trust, welcomed guests and spoke about the importance of maths for pupils as they prepare for a successful future. He hailed ‘the next generation of mathematicians’ as they use maths to forge their future careers.

There was also an opportunity to see a lesson showcasing teaching for mastery in maths. Year 5 pupils from Forest Gate Academy in Partington, Manchester, impressed guests in their lesson on problem-solving.

After the maths lesson showcase, Lady Turing addressed guests and formally renamed the hub, speaking about the legacy of Alan Turing’s name and how he continues to inspire young people. She also shared details of the work of The Turing Trust in Malawi, where innovative solar-powered computers are being used to give people crucial access to technology.

Following her address, Lady Turing visited pupils in Computer Science lessons and shared ‘The Turing Tumble’ with them. This new game involves players building mechanical computers powered by marbles to solve logic puzzles. Pupils and teachers certainly enjoyed trying it out!

The newly named Maths Hub will continue working as it has done for the last five years. Recruitment is currently underway for teachers in primary and secondary schools across Greater Manchester to join its free professional development programmes when the new school year starts in September. For more information about these opportunities, contact the hub.

You can also view Granada Television’s coverage of the story, and read the Sale Messenger’s article about the launch event.