Wigan school pupils hailed 'cyber security superstars' after winning Government-backed competition

Pupils from a Wigan high school have been crowned North West champions of a Government-backed cyber security competition designed to get more girls into the industry.
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Year eight pupils from St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School in Ashton saw off competition from 12 other schools in the regional final of the CyberFirst Girls Competition.

The tournament, run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, saw almost 9,000 girls from across the UK compete.

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The successful team from St Edmund Arrowsmith High SchoolThe successful team from St Edmund Arrowsmith High School
The successful team from St Edmund Arrowsmith High School
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The school tweeted: “We are absolutely delighted with our Y8 cyber security superstars! They deserve this win but of equal importance, they thoroughly enjoyed their experience! They are still buzzing and all the staff and students are congratulating today!”

The victorious girls have been invited to attend a dinner and celebration day later this year, where they will be in with a shot at a grand prize.

A team from Golborne High School also made it to the North West final but did not emerge triumphant.

Teams had to tackle an array of challenges, from cryptography and logic to artificial intelligence and networking.

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Only 22 per cent of the cyber security industry is comprised of women, but it is hoped this scheme, which has had around 65,000 competitors since launching in 2017, will change this.

Chris Ensor, deputy director for cyber frowth at the NCSC, said: “It’s heartening to see so many young people engage with cyber security, and I hope that many of you will pursue a career within the industry and protect the UK from future online threats.”

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