In July 1931, Alan Turing received the equivalent of his A level results and was awarded a Higher School Certificate A in physics and chemistry and a distinction in mathematics.
His mathematics master Donald Eperson had predicted Alan’s exam success, saying ‘He has gone on with his reading as well as revising the elementary work for the Higher Certificate, and I expect him to get a Distinction with ease. He has my best wishes for an equally successful career at Cambridge.’
Along with the other prizes Alan won at Sherborne School in 1931 (the King’s Medal for Mathematics, the Morcom Prize for Science, and the Digby Prize for Mathematics and Science) he was awarded the Sherborne Exhibition Prize for his Higher Certification examination results.
The Headmaster Charles Boughey wrote on Alan’s last school report: ‘A gifted and distinguished boy, whose future career we shall watch with much interest. I have found him pleasant and friendly and I believe that he has justified his appointment as a School Prefect.’
Before heading off to King’s College, Cambridge, where he had won a scholarship to study mathematics, Alan enjoyed a holiday on the Channel Island of Sark with his housemaster Geoffrey O’Hanlon and other boys from his house.
Alan remained a proud Shirburnian all his life, joining the Old Shirburnian Society in 1931 and remaining a member until his death in 1954. He also kept all the prize books and medals he won at Sherborne, which his mother later donated to the School Archives.
Alan returned to Sherborne on numerous occasions to visit his former teachers and to attend house suppers, making his last visit on 9 March 1953 to give a talk about ‘The Electronic Brain’.
Find out more about Alan Turing’s time at Sherborne School
Posted 7 August 2021 by Sherborne School Archives
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