CyberFirst South West

Are your students ready to secure the Cyber Squads new headquarters and become the 2025 Cyber Explorers Cup champions? The Cyber Explorers Cup is back, and the challenge is on! Entries are now open for schools across the UK to compete in this one-hour-long cyber security competition, offering the chance to win incredible prizes for their classroom. #CyberFirst Enter Here: https://lnkd.in/etTUvXa9

CyberFirst 2024 Wrap-Up What a year it’s been! From exciting events to engaging activities, 2024 has been filled with incredible moments. We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming several new schools to the CyberFirst programme, and we look forward to building on the positive impact it continues to make across the South West. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the programme this year. To our industry partners, thank you for your unwavering dedication in delivering impactful activities that truly make a difference. And, of course, to our fantastic CyberFirst schools – your enthusiasm and commitment are what drive this programme forward! As we head into 2025, we’re excited about the range of initiatives and activities we have planned. Stay tuned – there’s so much more to come!

It's our annual puzzling extravaganza, and our Chief Puzzler Colin is here to kick off the 2024 #GCHQChristmasChallenge 🎄 As you take the road to journey around the UK, Colin will be back with some handy hints all day. Take the challenge 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gdyraDQ3

The last CyberFirst South West schools event of the year, and what a day it was! Card games, coding, hacking and more. Thank you so much to my partner in crime for our first Unlock CyberFirst, Elaine Brown, and Sally Ford and Owain M. of Wiltshire College & University Centre for their kindness in hosting us. As always, this would never have been possible without our CyberFirst Ambassadors- you were superstars! CyberSafeSchools Louis Van Zyl St. James’s Place Jason Campbell Vestigo Consulting Nationwide Building Society Osric Carvalho, Rob Creer Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub Ian & Seb and James D, as well as Kyndryl, Dominic Nolan Andi Hudson for being key to making it happen! CyberFirst events look great, don't they?? To learn more and be involved in supporting our schools and colleges, get in touch!

Our amazing Computer Scientists from Bromsgrove School had an amazing day of #stem activity at QinetiQ in Malvern at the “Hands on Science” event! We were delighted to come second overall and joint first in the CyberFirst event. What a superb performance team Bromsgrove who as you can see were very excited at all the free merch and prizes!!! The code breaking, Turing Tumbles, Spheros, Raspberry Pi and Lego Robots were great fun. Lots of problem solving and ideas for future careers too. Thank you to Diana Hawkins and #cyberfirst for organising. The feedback from one parent was that this was the best trip that their son had ever been on, top tier praise indeed!

Congratulations to Farmor's School on receiving their Silver #CyberFirst Certificate yesterday at EmPowerCyber! This accreditation highlights the school’s commitment and dedication to supporting students in cyber and technology. Several others from across the South West region also joined us for our biggest multi-school event of the year. Students engaged in a range of exciting activities, including spotting AI-generated images, cracking codes in a digital forensics unit, navigating escape rooms, and racing Sphero bots—gaining hands-on experience with real-world cybersecurity applications. Stay tuned for our highlight video, capturing the energy and excitement that filled the room!

And we are off✨ Industry leaders and supporters are all glittered up and ready with their activities designed to inspire and engage. From spotting AI-generated images to cracking codes in a digital forensics unit, navigating escape rooms, and even racing Sphero bots, students will get hands-on experience with the real-world applications of cybersecurity. These activities aren’t just fun—they’re helping students build teamwork, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking! Today wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support of our sponsors: Gemba Advantage, Golden Valley, CACI Ltd , Sage and QinetiQ A massive thank you also goes to our industry supporters: Gemba Advantage BT Group, Microsoft, Roke, CGI, SW Regional Cyber Crime Unit, CyberFirst South West, Andy Briggs Curious Coders, and so many more amazing volunteers! Let the fun continue✨

Tomorrow is EmPowerCyber2024! 🎉 The wait is finally over, and we’re thrilled to kick off our biggest multi-school cyber event tomorrow where we will be welcoming over 1,000 KS3 students and industry leaders for a day packed with hands-on activities, inspiring workshops, and yes… some glitter ✨ Together, we’re bridging the cyber skills gap and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the digital workforce. With the incredible support of Gemba Advantage, Golden Valley, CACI Ltd, and Sage, this year’s EmPower event promises to inspire the next generation of tech talent. Plus, our exciting collaboration with Circle2Success Ltd for Educational Outreach Live is taking the impact even further! A huge thank you to our amazing sponsors, activity providers, and volunteers who have made this possible: Gemba Advantage, Golden Valley, CACI Ltd, Sage, BT Group, Microsoft, Roke, CGI, SW Regional Cyber Crime Unit, CyberFirst South West #CyberFirst, Andy Briggs/ Curious Coders… and so many more incredible voulenteers! 🙌 Stay tuned for the wrap up and exciting content to follow!

In between the snow and Storm Bert last Friday CyberFirst South West in partnership with Devon County Council delivered an amazing #CyberHorizons event based within the HiTech & Digital Centre at South Devon College It was an opportunity to warmly welcome students from several local schools with our brilliant industry supporters to showcase Cyber, and start a conversation about the sector. A huge thanks to CACI Ltd SW Regional Cyber Crime Unit CyberSafeSchools Cognition Creative Learning CIC and GCHQ Bude for consistently delivering top quality activities and engaging with the students This wouldn’t have been possible without the following people so a huge thank you to the wonderful Simone Marillier-Roberts and Ffion Griffiths from Raising Digital Engagement at KS3 at Devon County Council Collaborating with you and the highly organised Charlotte Bounsall and Conrad Saunders BSc (Hons) FHEA has been the best Now we just need to do more 😁 So if you’re involved in cyber tech and based in the #Devon area come and get involved Also want to give a shout out to Jacqueline Hobson from Devon, Plymouth & Torbay Careers Hub we would love to do more with you guys so please ask us and let’s get creative, as well as the wider team at South Devon College. Thank you as always to Joe Morris James D Louis Van Zyl Briony Cole Sophie Calienda and others who know who they are 😊 Working with you guys is always the best Long may it continue CyNam techSPARK uk CyberFirst South West Daisy North Devon, Plymouth & Torbay Careers Hub Suzy Wright South West Cyber Security Cluster Heart of the South West LEP #cyberfirst #digital #devon

And our two Year 8 CyberFirst teams at Bromsgrove School are off and running!! Our Cyber First Girls are collecting badges and very much enjoying their session this lunchtime in Computer Science. The puzzles from GCHQ are both challenging and very enjoyable, we are running sessions all this week and next for the girls that are competing in this high quality STEM event. For more information, do look at https://lnkd.in/eJ5rpxVP We work with the National Centre for Computing Education as a Hub school and are currently supporting schools across #Worcestershire with their #iBelong programmes to encourage more girls to study Tech and STEM subjects. Do reach out if we can support you with any aspect of this programme or any others!! Charlotte Smith Suzie Short Midlands Cyber CyberFirst Northwest and West Midlands - IN4 Group CyberFirst IN4 Group Diana Hawkins Fran Round Computing At School National Centre for Computing Education Becci Peters MBCS Savient Limited Bromsgrove School