A TEAM from Skipton Girls High School is preparing to put its digital skills to the test as its members vie to become the country’s cyber security champions.

Finalists from 12 state schools across Yorkshire and Humberside will compete on Saturday at the final of the annual CyberFirst Girls Competition which is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ.

Taking place in Barnsley, the final will see the 12 and 13 year old pupils work in teams to tackle cyber-related puzzles covering topics from networking and AI to cryptography and logic in a bid to score the most points and be named CyberFirst champions.

The 2022 competition has a new format aimed at encouraging new entrants from every part of the UK, with 13 finals taking place this week. Hundreds of schools signed up this year, with state schools that had never entered before making up more than 25 per cent of the total. This contributed to an overall increase in the proportion of state schools compared with last year.

Now in its sixth year, the CyberFirst Girls Competition aims to inspire year eight girls to consider pursuing careers in cyber security as female representation in the sector is too low, with women accounting for just 16 per cent of the UK’s cyber workforce.