CyberFirst Girls Competition

CyberFrist Girls Competition

The CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to inspire girls aged 12-13 who are interested in technology to pursue a career in cyber security 

The competition is a team event. Each team – consisting of up to four girls in Year 8 (England and Wales), S2 (Scotland) or Year 9 (Northern Ireland) – tackle challenges from cryptography and logic to artificial intelligence and networking for the chance to be crowned cyber security champions. 

Every girl from the winning teams will take a brand-new laptop home, and have a chance to win prize money for their school. 

Registration opens on September 16th 2024 

Key dates 

  1. Registration Open – 16 September 2024 
  2. Competition begins – 18 November 2024 
  3. Competition Closes – 27 November 2024 
  4. Celebratory Day (Gala event) – TBC 

Dates are subject to change. Fill out this keep in touch form and we'll keep you updated.  

What you need to know 

  1. Teams are made up of up to four girls in Year 8, S2 or Year 9 (Northern Ireland). 
  2. Schools can enter as many teams as they like if they meet the eligibility criteria above.  
  3. Teams need a team guardian. Must be over 18 and appointed by the school. 
  4. Team guardians don’t need to have any cyber knowledge whatsoever. Their role is to register the teams and facilitate access to the competition. See our Teacher Information Pack for useful information, videos and links to help you get started.  
  5. Example challenges are available to check out on the CyberFirst website

Competition structure 

Each team is made of up to four girls from Year 8 in England and Wales, Year 9 in Northern Ireland, and S2 in Scotland. 

The content for each category of the competition is consistent with subjects within the Computer Science syllabus from both the National Curriculum and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. 

However, the competition will 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. 

Awards

  1. Top Scoring state newcomer - Highest scoring state school entering the competition for the first time  
  2. Most team entries (three categories: state school, state selective school and independent school) - School with most teams entered (each team must have solved at least 10 challenges) 
  3. Top-scoring team - Highest scoring team 
  4. Top-scoring CyberFirst school - CyberFirst school with the highest collective score  
  5. Top-scoring returning school - Highest scoring school that has entered the competition previously 

Learn more about the girls competition from this short video