Photo – Ayesha, Netra, Miya and Harriet.

Crypto Coders Conquer Cyber Challenge

Six teams of Year 8 students took part in this year’s CyberFirst Girls’ Competition, organised by the National Cyber Security Centre. Over 10 days the teams of up to four students tackled fun and challenging puzzles, covering topics from cryptography to AI to logic, in a bid to see off rivals and develop cyber skills.

This is the eighth year BGS has taken part, and the competition has inspired many students to go on to pursue opportunities in cyber, where women make up just 17% of the UK’s cyber security workforce.

The 2023-2024 BGS winners were Crypto Coders: Ayesha, Miya, Netra and Harriet, closely followed by trio D1G1TAL D3STROY3RS (Digital Destroyers): Serena, Sylvia and Annie.

Mrs Burtenshaw (Computer Science teacher) who organised the competition at school again this year said: “I love the buzz of the classroom at lunch when we let them drop in and out to work on things. It’s great to hear them explain how they solved something after getting stuck in for a good hour figuring it out.”

NCSC and The Smallpeice Trust offer further opportunities and free events for students in Year 8 and above under the CyberFirst name. More information can be found here, and also here at The Smallpeice Trust. 

Ella Morgan-Jones (8AEL): said “I found the competition a great chance to show off my computer skills and get to know friends better. I loved the opportunity and I can’t wait to see if it will be on again next year!”

Karin Saedi (8CAB) said: “Think outside of the box and don’t overthink questions, it might just be a simple answer. Overall it was a great fun and challenging competition.”

Serena Hirani (8CAB) reflected: “I am so glad I entered the CyberFirst Girls’ Hacking Competition for Year 8! I learnt so much from just 10 days and had a lot of fun. This has really shown me a new perspective to computer science and I really enjoyed being in a team with my friends. I do hope that many more people will get to experience what I did and realise how addictive it is answering tricky questions and learning about our technological world!”

Vanessa Poon (8ACT) added: “The CyberFirst Girls’ Competition was really fun, I got to do hard challenges with my friends and spend time with them. I've learnt that working with your team is fun and you shouldn’t just rely on one person.”