We are incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding success of four of our Year 8 students from St John’s Catholic School & Sixth Form College, Bishop Auckland. A huge well‑done to Saule, Verity, Belle and Harini, who represented our school brilliantly at the CyberFirst Girls Competition Regional Finals, hosted at Sage UK.
Competing against seven other schools, the girls took part in four challenging problem‑solving tasks, all designed and delivered by industry experts from the world of cyber security and technology. Their teamwork, determination and resilience shone through — and we are thrilled to announce that St John’s were crowned winners of the regional final!
Our champions returned to school with the competition trophy and, to their delight, a brand‑new laptop each. This incredible achievement recognises not only their talent, but also their commitment to weekly preparation sessions in enrichment.
A special thank you goes to Mr Minton, whose guidance and support have been invaluable throughout the competition. It was also wonderful to see students from two of our BHCET partner schools — St Michael’s and OLSB — taking part alongside us.
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Why Competitions Like CyberFirst Matter
The CyberFirst Girls Competition is part of a much wider effort in the UK to inspire young people, especially girls, to explore opportunities in the world of technology, cyber security and computing.
TechYouth: Empowering the Next Generation
TechYouth works with young people aged 11–18, aiming to reach one million students across the UK. The programme helps pupils:
- Develop essential tech skills
- Build confidence with AI
- Explore pathways into a huge variety of tech‑related careers
CyberFirst: Growing Future Cyber Leaders
CyberFirst already supports young people with an interest in cyber security in schools and colleges across the UK. This support will continue to grow, expanding into even more areas of technology. Delivery partners help coordinate local activity, inspiration days and recognition for schools making strong progress in computing and digital education. They work alongside industry, universities and third‑sector organisations to strengthen opportunities for all.
Cyber Explorers: Learning Through Play
Cyber Explorers is a free interactive learning platform for 11–14 year olds, with over 120,000 students already taking part. It offers:
- Engaging, game‑based cyber learning
- Live competitions
- Tailored teaching resources for schools
This programme is set to expand even further, introducing more content across different areas of computing and digital technology.
Encouraging Girls Into Tech
Last year’s CyberFirst Girls Competition saw almost 10,000 girls take on challenges ranging from cryptography to machine learning — an inspiring reminder of just how much talent, creativity and curiosity young people bring to the tech world.
The next major national competition, TechFirst Girls, promises even more opportunities to celebrate the achievements of girls in STEM.
A Moment of Pride for St John’s
Our students’ success reflects their hard work, creativity and passion for problem‑solving. It also demonstrates the importance of giving young people access to real, high‑quality experiences in the world of digital technology.
We are incredibly proud of Saule, Verity, Belle and Harini — true role models for our school community and shining examples of the next generation of digital leaders.