Alan Turing’s teachers despaired at the ‘vague’ schoolboy

Alan Turing’s report card from when he attended Sherborne School in Dorset is to go on display at the Fitzwilliam Musuem in Cambridge

He is the man credited by many as the person who helped shorten World War II by cracking Nazi war codes and saving millions of lives in the process, but his school report card tells a different story to genius we have all come to know.

While Alan Turing, who brought Bayesian statistics and cryptographic genius to Bletchley Park during the war, showed ‘distinct promise’ in maths, his ideas in physics were deemed vague and messy by his teachers when a schoolboy. 

Turing’s report card from Sherborne school in Dorset will be going on display tomorrow at the Fitzwilliam Musuem in Cambridge as part of an exhibition called Codebreakers and Groundbreakers. 

Despite his obvious intelligence, Turing’s mathematics master Donald Eperson said his Higher Certificate papers showed talent but commented that ‘he must realise that ability to put a neat and tidy solution on paper – intelligible and legible – is necessary for a first-rate mathematician’.

His physics masters Henry Gervis added: ‘He has done some good work but generally sets it down badly. He must remember that Cambridge will want sound knowledge rather than vague ideas.’

Turing’s chemistry, maths and physics teachers clearly recognised his ability even while criticising his poor presentation, while other teachers were less forgiving.

Alan Turing's school report when he was 16-years-old goes on show between October 24 to February 4

Alan Turing’s school report when he was 16-years-old goes on show between October 24 to February 4

This is the copy of the school prize which Turing chose in honour of his 'first love' Christopher Morcom

This is the copy of the school prize which Turing chose in honour of his ‘first love’ Christopher Morcom

A letter which Alan Turing sent to his mother will also be on show 

A letter which Alan Turing sent to his mother will also be on show 

His French master said Turing’s ‘proses have been very weak. Most of the mistakes are elementary and the result of hasty work’.

And his reading ability was considered ‘weak’ by his English teacher, and despite showing promise in his essays, they were deemed a bit too ambitious.

The revealing report card from when Turing was 16 could help inspire others who struggl at school during their GCSE years, proving that all is not lost as the codebreaker went on gain a first class honours at King’s College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow aged 22.

Turing was the subject of the 2014 film ‘The Imitation Game’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which detailed his life from his time at school to his death in 1952 aged just 41.

After he was convicted of gross indecency for engaging in homosexual acts, Turing accepted chemical castration and spiraled into depressions, where he committed suicide by cyanide poisoning.

Despite his death being ruled suicide, Turing's mother said it was 'quite probably' his death from cyanide poisoning was a mistake

Despite his death being ruled suicide, Turing’s mother said it was ‘quite probably’ his death from cyanide poisoning was a mistake

Along with items from Turing's time at school, such as the prize he received in honour of Morcom (above), codebreaking machines will also be on display at the exhibition 

Along with items from Turing’s time at school, such as the prize he received in honour of Morcom (above), codebreaking machines will also be on display at the exhibition 

The exhibition will go on display along with a science book which Turing bought for himself as a prize in honour of his ‘first love’ Christopher Morcom, a fellow pupil at Sherborne school who died aged 18 from bovine tuberculosis.

Two coding devices will also be on show including a rare 1944 U-Boat Enigma M4, made exclusively for the U-boat division of the Kriegsmarine and used by the Nazis to disseminate secret communications to and from their submarines in the Atlantic. 

The second is a Typex Mark 22, a device used by the British for exchanging secret messages. 

The exhibition runs from October 24 to February 4.  

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