Cybersecurity careers come alive at Guildford County School

We had a fantastic time running career day workshops at Guildford County School for Year 8 and Year 10 students — and what stood out, as ever, was the curiosity and ambition of the young people in the room.

Over 300 students explored the world of cybersecurity by playing our Network Shield game. The energy was incredible: students dove into the challenges, asked sharp, thoughtful questions, and even started discussing recent real-world cybersecurity incidents they’d read about in the news. Watching them connect the dots between gameplay and real-life cyber threats was a powerful reminder of how quickly young people can grasp complex digital concepts when they’re given the right tools.

Why these workshops matter

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing areas of the UK economy, with a digital skills gap that continues to widen. Many young people, however, never get to see what a cybersecurity career actually looks like before they make GCSE or post-16 choices. By bringing gamified virtual work experience into the classroom, we’re giving Year 8 and Year 10 students an authentic taste of what network security professionals do day-to-day and an early sense of whether STEM careers in cyber might be right for them.

For careers leaders and heads of computer science, the format is genuinely practical. Network Shield works as a stand-alone career day session, fits into a careers programme aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks, and gives schools a measurable way to show meaningful encounters with employers and the workplace.

A huge thank you to the organisers behind these brilliant events:  especially the careers leader Huda Gay and the head of computer science Maria Eirini Eleftheriadi — for making the day possible and for opening up these career pathways to so many students at once.

Watching young people lean into the opportunity to learn and broaden their horizons is the reason we do this work. Our hope is that every child at this age, in every school, can have access to opportunities like these: to spark interest, build skills, and inspire future careers in technology.

If you’re a school or careers leader and would like to bring Network Shield or another XPark Games experience to your students, we’d love to hear from you.