A TEAM of students from an Andover school have pitted their cyber skills against schools across the region in the CyberFirst Girls Competition.

Competing against 11 other schools in the regional final, the team of four Year 8 pupils from Harrow Way spent a day at NATS Corporate and Technical Centre tackling cyber related puzzles from cracking codes, cyphers and cryptography, which covered topics from networking to AI.

The CyberFirst Girls competition is run by the National Cyber Security Centre.

The competition aims to inspire girls to consider pursuing careers in cyber security.

Donna Robertson, curriculum leader ICT and Computing said: “With women still very unrepresented in the tech industry we are keen to encourage our female students at a younger age to engage with the subject with a view to more studying Computer Science at GCSE.

"The CyberFirst Girls Competition was a great opportunity for our team of female students to apply their know-how and skills to a series of challenges.

"They did incredibly well to reach the regional finals having qualified against hundreds of teams.

" I hope their success has inspired them and they can see the potential for a future career in the sector.”

Chris Ensor, NCSC deputy director for Cyber Growth, added: “Congratulations to all the girls who took part in this year’s final of the CyberFirst Girls Competition – and a special well done to the winning schools for their success on the day.

"The UK’s growing cyber security industry needs more female representation so it’s great to see thousands of girls nationwide taking part in the contest, many for the first time.

“I thank organisations who played host for the finals and teachers for their work helping us uncover new cyber talent.

SEE ALSO: Success for Andover students in robot challenge at Legoland

"I hope for many of the girls this will be just the start of their interest in this area.”

Harrow Way has an after school Girls Computer Club which allows for a secure user-friendly atmosphere where the girls can gain certificates and awards from different coding platforms.

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