A group of Kingston girls who were among the country’s top performers in a flagship cyber security competition have met world leaders and senior NATO officials at a Downing Street reception.

The pupils from The Tiffin Girls’ School were invited to the event after reaching the final of the National Cyber Security Centre’s CyberFirst Girls Competition earlier this year.

More than 24,000 girls have taken part in the annual competition since its launch in 2017, and The Tiffin Girls’ School is one of only two schools to reach all three of the finals.

The four girls spoke to the special guests at No.10 about the challenges they took on during the competition, which aims to nurture the next generation of cyber security professionals, encouraging more young women and girls to consider a future career in the industry.

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The reception – which was part of a series of events being held in the UK to mark the 70th anniversary of NATO – came after registration opened for the CyberFirst Girls Competition 2020.

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Skills and Growth, said: “It was fantastic to see the CyberFirst Girls Competition showcased in front of NATO and world leaders, and to have such excellent representatives in The Tiffin Girls’ School team.

“Registration is now open for the 2020 competition, and I would encourage even more teams across the UK to follow in the Tiffin Girls' footsteps and take part in this fun and challenging contest.”

The Tiffin Girls' School was one of 10 teams to reach the final in Edinburgh this year after taking part in a series of online cyber security focused puzzles and challenges.