Registration for the CyberFirst Girls Competition 2021 is now open.
The National Cyber Security Centre is working hard to get more girls interested in a career in cyber security. The CyberFirst Girls Competition provides a fun but challenging environment to inspire the next generation of young women to consider a career in cyber security.
The competition is a team event, with each one made up of 4 female students from Year 8 in England and Wales, Year 9 in Northern Ireland and S2 in Scotland.
It consists of three distinct phases:
- the online qualifying round to identify the top teams in each home nation and English region
- the semi-final where teams will battle it out in their areas to qualify for a place in the Grand Final
- the Grand Final where the top ten teams drawn from the regions in England, and from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will gather to compete for the title of UK CyberFirst Girls Competition Winners.
Whatever your ability, from beginner to expert, the CyberFirst Girls Competition is an opportunity to learn something new about cyber security.
2021 Girls Competition key dates:
30th November 2020 – team registration opens
1200 (noon) 25th January – 1200 (noon) 3rd February 2021 – online qualifying round
12th March 2021 – Home nations and English regions semi-final
26th April 2021 – Grand Final
We will be sticking to the same format as last year which seeks to encourage and recognise participation from all parts of the UK, whilst making some changes to ensure the competition can run in a Covid-secure way.
To begin with, there will be an online qualifier round lasting 10 days, followed by a semi-final round and a Grand Final.
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.
What you need to know:
- Teams can … register now! Registration opened on 30th November, and stays open until the qualifier closes on 3rd February 2021. We would recommend registering ahead of the online qualifier though.
- Teams are……made up of up to four female students in Year 8, S2 or Year 9 (NI).
- Teams need……to be supported by a responsible adult appointed by the school who is aged over 18 years and who can act as the team guardian.
- Team guardians……do not need to have any cyber knowledge or be an IT or computer science teacher. Their role is to register the teams and facilitate access to the competition.
- Schools can……enter as many teams as they like if they fit the qualifying criteria (see above).
- The semi-final round…..will take place during the school day. Students will need to be taken off the day’s timetable should they qualify.
- The Grand Final……will take place during the school day. Students will need to be taken off the day’s timetable should they qualify.
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