FOUR year 10 students from Alton Convent School immersed themselves in the world of cyber security courtesy of a number of leading players in the sector.

Officials from GCHQ, BT Security, Raytheon and Symantec were on hand to offer expertise to the eager students.

The day was also hosted by TeenTech, a progressive and innovative outreach organisation committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists.

Hannah Dance, Bryony Hurlstone, Eleanor Ring and Lucy Schryver excitedly made their way to London’s Canary Wharf eager to meet and work with the current generation of cutting-edge IT professionals.

Alton Convent School was delighted to be invited to participate as one of only four schools and colleges at the event, which included talking to young apprentices and graduates about careers in the industry.

The cyber world is a growth sector with a predicted 6.5 million new opportunities by 2019.

A variety of challenges greeted the girls at each company station, including hacking into an e-mail transmission sent by terrorists to decrypt the message, creating cyphers, and decrypting and writing a program to create a game on the BBC microbit.

The students also had to plan and present a new idea that connects the internet to an everyday object and sell the concept to the company judges.

The day concluded with the Alton Convent School team victorious in the GCHQ challenge as the most promising hackers.

And the feedback from the sponsors was exceptionally positive for the quartet.

Hannah was formally recognised by Raytheon for her skill in intercepting transmissions, and Byrony was invited by one of the event sponsors to apply for a prestigious higher level apprenticeship.

This would enable her to command a salary, gain experience and study for a degree with her tuition sponsored by the organisation.

The students shared their experience during a whole school assembly, keen to communicate their enthusiasm for a whole new world of career possibilities.