Competition codebreaker

Seven GDST teams are competing in the semi-finals of the CyberFirst Girls Competition

Seven teams from the GDST family of schools are competing in the semi-finals of the CyberFirst Girls Competition.

Year 8 girls from Norwich High School for Girls, Nottingham Girls’ High School, South Hampstead High School, Royal High School Bath, Oxford High School and Wimbledon High School are taking part in the regional semi-finals after making it through the qualifying rounds which saw more than 6,500 entrants from across the country.

The CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to support girls interested in a career in cyber security. It is run by the National Cyber Security Centre and aims to provide a fun but challenging environment to inspire the next generation of young women to consider this career pathway.

“The CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to support girls interested in a career in cyber security”

This year’s semi-final is being held online because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The competition is a team event with up to four students from each school competing. The girls will battle it out in their regional semi-final for a chance to qualify for the Grand Final on 26 April which will see the top ten teams from across the UK competing for the title of UK CyberFirst Girls Competition Winners.

The contestants will be set puzzles covering cryptography, logic and networking. The content for each category of the competition is consistent with subjects within the National Curriculum’s Computer Science syllabus, however, it will also contain some advanced cyber topics that are not covered in traditional education but will seek to stretch the lateral thinking and additional cyber knowledge of the teams.

Kelly Lycett, Head of Computer Science at Royal High School Bath, said:

“We are so excited to have a talented year 8 team competing in the south-west semi-finals of the Cyber First Girls Competition, for the third year in a row. It is a great chance for our students to challenge themselves and opens up a whole new possible STEM career pathway for them in the exciting world of cyber security. It is another very good example of how the GDST truly is a place where girls learn without limits.”

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said:

“These girls have opened the door to what could one day be an exciting and rewarding career, where more female representation is undoubtedly needed.”