Record Number of Girls Compete in CyberFirst Contest

The winners of this year’s CyberFirst Girls competition were officially named yesterday after a record-breaking contest.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) crowned Birmingham’s Hillcrest School and Sixth Form Centre “Top Scoring State Newcomer” at a ceremony at Jodrell Bank at the weekend, awarding the school a £4000 ($5171) prize.

North London’s Henrietta Barnett School was named “Top Scoring Team.”

The event also saw 13 regional winners and special award winners handed prizes. It was held on Saturday to coincide with International Women’s Day.

However, the real winners may be the employers of tomorrow, given the competition’s stated aim of inspiring more girls to pursue cyber and technology in their education and future careers.

A record number of girls (14,500) and teams (4159) took part in this year’s competition, which concluded in December.

Read more on CyberFirst: Thirteen Teams Win UK’s CyberFirst Girls Competition

“I’d like to extend my gratitude to the teachers who’ve encouraged and inspired their students to take part in the competition, to our sponsors whose support makes this event possible, and to the girls who demonstrated admirable skills, determination, and teamwork,” said NCSC deputy director for cyber growth, Chris Ensor.

“It seems apt on International Women’s Day to point out the UK’s cybersecurity industry needs more female representation, and I hope for many of the girls this marks the beginning of their interest in technology.”

Since its launch in 2017 around 85,000 girls have apparently taken part in the NCSC’s flagship contest for schools. It’s open annually to girls in Year 8 in England and Wales, S2 in Scotland and Year 9 in Northern Ireland.

Competitors take part in a series of cybersecurity challenges, including decrypting messages, cracking code and solving coding puzzles – with 12 regional finals and an additional category for independent schools.

The NCSC claims that women currently make up just 17% of the cyber workforce, a number that must increase if the industry is to overcome major skills shortages and diversity challenges.

The UK’s estimated cyber workforce gap rose 27% annually to over 93,000 unfilled positions last year, according to ISC2. That’s far more than the global increase of 19% from the previous year.