CyberFirst Girls Competition: solve it together

Editorial overview

The CyberFirst Girls Competition was designed by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre to give girls an early, team-based encounter with cybersecurity. Its task mix has included cryptography, logic, networking and artificial intelligence. That range is the point: cyber work is not one skill, and a team gains more from covering different ways of thinking than from asking one confident coder to do everything.

Teams of up to four work through online challenges after a teacher registers the school. Historical competition stages have progressed from an online qualifier towards regional and national events. The programme is now appearing within the government’s broader TechFirst direction, so schools should confirm the current name, route and stage structure rather than relying on an old calendar.

CompeteMap would recommend the competition to eligible students who are curious about puzzles and systems, including those without prior security experience. Preparation should build vocabulary and collaboration, not imitate hacking stereotypes. A good team knows who is checking assumptions, who is recording answers and when to switch tasks.

Quick Facts

Review Evaluation

CompeteMap has not yet published a formal level rating. The central challenge is breadth: teams must coordinate across several unfamiliar cyber domains.

For current dates, eligibility and registration details, see the CyberFirst Girls Competition competition page.

Checked on 26 September 2026.

Allocate by evidence, not confidence

Let each teammate sample different task types, then assign leads. Keep a shared record of attempted answers and unresolved assumptions. Rotation prevents one difficult category from trapping the whole team.

Check the live programme identity

CyberFirst is transitioning within the wider TechFirst programme. Teachers should use current government pages and the CompeteMap record to confirm the latest competition name and registration route before organising a team.

Key Takeaways

• Breadth and teamwork matter more than a single coding specialist.
• A teacher controls school registration.
• Confirm current TechFirst/CyberFirst naming and stages before acting.

Sources checked

• https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/news/girls-gear-up-for-codebreaking-showdown.pdf
• https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/CyberFirst%20Girls%20Competition%202025%20poster%201_English.pdf
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/techfirst