Cyber Discovery: Cyber Discovery: Club leaders and HM Government's Cyber Schools Programme

We’re helping thousands of students across the UK become the next leaders in cyber security through our free, digital learning programme. Is the next expert in your classroom?

What is Cyber Discovery?

Cyber Discovery is HM Government's free online extracurricular programme to teach cyber security skills to UK students between 13 and 18. As part of the UK's National Cyber Security Strategy, we're working to bridge the skills gap by introducing a new generation to this exciting industry.

There are thousands of talented teenagers across the UK that have the power to become future cyber security experts. They just haven't been discovered yet. That's why we created Cyber Discovery: to uncover, support, and train a new generation in one of the most in-demand skillsets in the UK. Help our mission by becoming a Cyber Discovery Club Leader and inspire your students.

The role of a Cyber Discovery Club Leader

You don’t have to be a computer science teacher to get involved: we provide everything you need to run your own Cyber Discovery club. All you need to do is provide the space and time students need to uncover their hidden cyber security skills.

Our Computer Science pupils are making a start on the next round of HM GOV’s Cyber Discovery challenges; CS GAME ! This is a brilliant programme from @CyberDiscUK and most definitely raising the profile of cyber security @endonhighschool 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/p3Ogv59l7K
— EHS Computing, Computer Science & Business Studies (@EHS_CCSBS) January 22, 2019

It’s not just STEM students who could go on to be successful in the cybersecurity industry. Help give a diverse range of students the chance to realise their potential by encouraging as many as possible to get involved.

What you need to start a Cyber Discovery Club

Space: this can be a classroom, youth group, or any other location.

Technology: your students will need access to a computer with an internet connection.

Time: as much or as little as you have. 30 minutes to an hour a week is usually the perfect amount.

You: a willing volunteer to inspire today’s young minds to become tomorrow’s leaders!

How the programme works

The programme is delivered entirely online and provides all the materials your students need to learn. The first stage, CyberStart Assess, is open to all students. After that, students are selected to progress based on their ability.

CyberStart Assess

3^rd September – 25^th October 2019

Designed to identify those with innate talent and aptitude for cyber security work, CyberStart Assess is an online assessment tool containing a range of short challenges.

CyberStart Game

5^th November 2019 – 1^st May 2020

Students who excel in CyberStart Assess can move on to take on the role of a security agent to gather information, crack codes, find security flaws and dissect criminals’ digital trails.

CyberStart Essentials

16^th December 2019 – 1^st May 2020

Through interactive labs, videos, exams and quizzes, CyberStart Essentials provides the theoretical knowledge behind advanced security topics.

CyberStart Elite

Summer 2020

Top-performing students will be invited to exciting face-to-face residential camps to meet industry experts and take part in top-class training.

CyberStart Compete - New for 2019, students will also be able to take part in online Capture the Flag competitions throughout the programme.

Free tool to get a taste of the Cyber Discovery programme

Want to see the sorts of challenges your students will face?

Head over to CyberStart Go, a tool we built to give you a quick sample of what CyberStart Assess and Game are like. It's free to use and features over a dozen challenges.

Try CyberStart Go

What you’ll get from becoming a Club Leader

By running a club, you’ll be giving your students a fantastic kick-start to their future careers by introducing them to an exciting industry. You can use the programme as an extracurricular club or in lessons. The programme works alongside the curriculum and supports key Gatsby benchmarks.

A Club Leader’s role is to provide the space, time, and encouragement students need to uncover their hidden cyber security skills. You don’t have to be a computer science teacher to get involved: we provide everything you need to run your own Cyber Discovery club.

What your students will learn

By the end of the programme, your students will have covered disciplines such as cryptography, password cracking, digital forensics and open source intelligence gathering.

The levels get increasingly difficult, but CyberStart Assess is designed to be accessible to any student and discover those with innate ability, regardless of whether they already study computer science.

Request a free school workshop

Our Schools Engagement Team can deliver in-school workshops and attend any careers or technical events. We will introduce your students to cyber security and the Cyber Discovery programme, and discuss with them what a career in cyber security looks like. Get in touch at schools@joincyberdiscovery.com for more information.

If you have time, space, and a laptop – you’re ready to go!

To make sure your students can access everything they need to, you should speak to your ICT department to make sure the laptops or computers you’re using can access browser developer tools and scripting tools.

When your students progress to the later stages of CyberStart Game, they’ll need access to a virtual machine. But don’t worry, we’ll provide instructions of how to set this up when you get there.