Cyber Guardians: Empowering the Next Generation of Cyber-Savvy Girls

In an increasingly digital world, keeping young people informed and safe online is more important than ever. That’s why TECgirls was proud to develop and deliver the Cyber Guardians programme, with funding support from Innovate UK’s Cyber Local Fund.  

What Was Cyber Guardians All About?

The Cyber Guardians project was a hybrid after-school club designed especially for Key Stage 2 girls. It was created to help primary-aged girls in Cornwall understand cyber security, digital resilience, and online safety.

Over the course of 8 themed sessions, girls explored real-world cyber security challenges in fun, age-appropriate ways. Weekly topics included everything from “Super Spies and Secret Codes” to “Is it AI or Human?”, where girls learned to spot deepfakes and navigate the rise of artificial intelligence online.

Other topics included:

• Catching the Baddies (understanding trolls and hackers)

• Safe Snaps (picture sharing and privacy)

• Catching Phish (online scams)

• Don’t Let the Haters Win (online bullying)

  
  

In our final session, the girls even created their own Cyber Guardian characters, each with special digital powers designed to protect their friends, families, and schools online. 

Cyber Guardians Challenge Day: A Celebration of Cyber Skills

On 26th March, we brought the girls from across the schools together for a highly anticipated Cyber Guardians Challenge Day. This exciting in-person finale celebrated everything the girls had learned during the eight-week Cyber Guardians after-school programme. Brimming with energy and enthusiasm, the event featured five hands-on cyber challenges from LEGO Safe Cracking and Turing Tumble puzzles to a fast-paced Password Battle that tested their quick thinking.

Adding even more depth to the day, industry professionals joined us to share their stories and inspire the next generation. Among them was Isobel Mackinnon, a Senior Consultant at CGI, who spoke about her path into tech and her role in developing secure websites for government clients. Esther Lupton from Salto also shared her story of being a Plymouth University student and her year placement with Salto in cybersecurity.

The Challenge Day not only tested the girls' newly acquired skills but also ignited a deeper interest in cybersecurity careers. The enthusiasm and curiosity displayed by the participants highlighted the success of the Cyber Guardians programme in empowering the next generation of cyber-savvy girls.

Impact Beyond the Classroom

Our goal was to engage 100 girls across 10 Cornish schools — and we did just that and more! All 10 schools enthusiastically took part, with some enrolling up to 15 girls in the programme. 

But the impact didn’t stop there. We reached even more young minds through hands-on pop-up activities and community events. At the First Lego League Regionals, 480 children got to experience our interactive cyber challenges, while our Safer Internet Day video assembly reached over 220 viewers across Cornwall. We also hosted a workshop for 13 headteachers focused on AI and cybersecurity in education, and 60 students joined us for a powerful talk on deepfakes at an Imagination Unleashed event.

In response to demand from schools, we also developed additional resources like a shareable video assembly to extend the learning even further. Along the way, we also built valuable partnerships with leading tech companies such as Google, CGI, and Cornish AI firm Salto — giving the girls real-life role models to look up to and showing them what’s possible in the world of cybersecurity and tech.

Creating Confidence in a Connected World

While Cyber Guardians delivered fun, interactive sessions on digital safety, the true impact of the programme goes much deeper.

For many young people and especially for their parents, the internet can feel like an overwhelming and sometimes frightening place. From online bullying to misinformation, privacy concerns to AI-generated fakes, the digital world isn’t always kind. And for children growing up surrounded by technology, knowing how to navigate those tricky online moments is more critical than ever.

Through Cyber Guardians, we not only taught girls how to spot a phishing scam or protect a password. We provided them with the tools to think critically, ask questions, and act with confidence. We helped them understand not just what can go wrong, but why it matters and what they can do about it. Feedback from both parents and teachers highlights the significance of the programme:

“As a parent, it can feel really overwhelming to know your children are open to so many things when they get phones. Thank you for getting them to think about how to use them safely.”

“Many thanks for all you’re doing around cyber security — it’s pitched so well for our kids and really helping them to understand what to be aware of in protecting themselves online and what to do as a response if something unwanted does happen.” 

“The girls have all really enjoyed creating their posters and are looking forward to presenting them to the rest of the school in our online safety assembly next Tuesday. Thanks for a great session with such a useful message that’s easy for the kids to remember.”

“My daughter loves your club. The coding week was right up her street and she loved her cypher wheel. She’s been creating all sorts of new codes for messages with us!”

These activities helped girls build confidence online while developing critical thinking and digital skills that will serve them for years to come. For many of the girls, this was the first time they were asked to think about technology not just as something they consume but as something they can shape, question, and even help improve. And by introducing them to diverse role models in tech and cyber careers, we further planted seeds that may one day grow into bold futures.

So, What’s Next?

We’re already planning to build on this incredible momentum and bring Cyber Guardians to even more communities in the next school year.

Interested in a Cyber Guardians Club for your school?

We’re in the process of planning our clubs for the 2025/26 academic year. Please reach out to our team at betsy@tecgirls.co.uk to learn more about our clubs.