Did you know that “schoolmasters” is an anagram of “the classrooms”? Just thought I’d mention it. It’s the sort of anagram beloved of crossword compilers — and crosswords are the subject of a short video I made recently.

As I say in the video, I believe that being able to solve cryptic crosswords requires a way of thinking that would not be out of place when planning and writing a computer program. Alan Turing thought so too: being able to solve The Times crossword was an entry requirement for working with him at Bletchley Park.

Have a look at my review of the book Two girls, one on each knee (7). That's a crossword clue, by the way, in case you hadn't realised it!

Here's the video:

This is a slightly amended version of an article that first appeared in Digital Education, or free newsletter. You can sign up by clicking this button and filling in the form: