The IT Girls

Y8 girls who have entered a national cyber security competition received expert advice from information technology giants IBM.

Twelve Y8 students are competing in a national competition called Cyber First to find the female cyber security experts of tomorrow. And to help them prepare for the tough challenge the girls were lucky to receive insight into the industry from two senior cyber security staff from IBM, Mark Bowers and Saritha Arunkumar.

The two experts explained the challenges that could face the students in the competition and gave them insight into cyber security as well as staying safe online.

Headteacher, Nigel Pressnell said, “We are incredibly grateful to Mark and Saritha for giving up their time and giving our students a valuable insight into the world of cyber security.”

Cyber security is a very fast growing industry and it’s essential that all students, including female students, see the opportunities that are available to them. Competitions like this are a great way of encouraging young people into a world of work they might not have considered before.”

The girls have been divided into three teams and have already completed the first round of the competition. This included challenges in cyber security, logic and coding, networking and cryptography. Each question posed to the students was derived from skills used every day by cyber security professionals and all can be answered using techniques freely available on the internet.

Now the girls have to wait to hear if they have finished in the top ten of teams and the chance to compete in a face-to-face grand final in March.

The eventual winners will receive £1,000 for school computer equipment and individual prizes.