Cyber security competition for secondary school pupils set to return later this year after success

A national competition which aims to inspire teenage school pupils to become the cyber security experts of tomorrow is set to return later this year after the 2025/26 competition was hailed a massive success.

The NCSC ACE (Academic Centres of Excellence) Schools Cyber Security Competition is a nationwide, inclusive UK challenge designed to inspire young people aged 14-18 to explore the cyber security field.

Organised by 12 NCSC ACE-CSE Universities and supported by a host of organisations including CyberFirst and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the contest allows school pupils across the UK to tackle real-world cyber puzzles, brain teasers, and CTF-style challenges, with the top teams invited to attend a finals day event hosted at their local ACE-CSE University.

Edinburgh Napier University officially received a Gold Award as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in 2024. The Centre is co-directed by leading academics Associate Professor Rich Macfarlane and Professor Bill Buchanan OBE.

Nearly 2,000 pupils across the UK took part in last year's competition, with more than 100 pupils making the Scottish finals day events which were hosted both at Edinburgh Napier University and Abertay University.

Earlier this year, the University welcomed pupils from George Watson's College, St. Kentigern's Academy, Stirling High School, Ross High School, Wester Hailes High School, Lasswade High School and Trinity Academy for the ACE competition finals day event at its Merchiston campus CyberLab.

The pupils took part in a Capture The Flag (CTF) event, streamed over multiple campuses in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow, allowing the best teams in Scotland to compete for prizes and bragging rights of best in Scotland. Alongside the CTF, pupils received a range of industry talks and advice on the opportunities within cyber security.

The Scottish final day events were made possible thanks to the generous support from a number of companies, groups and sponsors: NCC Group, students from Edinburgh Napier University Security Society (ENUSEC), Edinburgh Napier University's School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Abertay cyberQuarter and Education Scotland.

With the competition set to return in October this year, Edinburgh Napier Associate Professor Rich Macfarlane is looking forward to an even bigger and better competition this time round.

He said: "We have run cyber security schools outreach events including our Christmas lectures for around 15 years, but last year's ACE Competition brought together school pupils and teachers from across the whole country to take part in a single event, and the finals day with the top teams competing against each other in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee on one day was just brilliant.

"Seeing the enthusiasm and fun being had by the school pupils attempting the CTF challenges as well as many of their teachers cheering them on, and the outstanding efforts from university staff, students and industry partners in organising and contributing to the competition and events was just fabulous!"

Team sign-ups for this year's competition will open in October. If you are from a Scottish school and are keen for pupils to get involved, then please contact Rich Macfarlane directly to register your interest.

Edinburgh Napier University has several NCSC-certified degree courses, including its flagship Masters in Cyber Security and BEng (Hons) degree in Cyber Security.

More details on all things Cyber Security at Edinburgh Napier can be found here.

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