CyberFirst is an annual competition for Year 8 students which is run by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to encourage participation in codebreaking and other activities involved with maintaining national cybersecurity.
12 St Helen’s teams comprising a total of 48 students competed in the first round which took place over ten days in November 2022. Qualification for the independent schools CyberFirst final required that teams to be one of the top 12 independent schools competing in the country, with only one team maximum from each school.
After a hard-fought battle which lasted until the final hour before the competition closed, team JEAH beat the Fire Monkeys to be the best SHSK team. Team JEAH also qualified for the national final and went to Cheltenham in February where they had a great day cracking codes and solving a wide range of puzzles.
Can you decrypt the message below?
BETC TC KN AHKYSXA OL YONOKXSEKUABTW CZUCBTBZBTON. WKN POZ WJKWR TB?
If like this type of puzzle and you are currently in Year 7, you can sign up for the next competition in November.
