Four Grade12 and one Grade 11 student from Sisler High School make up the first and only international team to ever qualify for the finals of a cyber-defence competition called the CyberPatriot Games.

The American Air Force Association created the CyberPatriot Games to give students hands-on experience to the foundations of cybersecurity and get young people interested in cyber-defence and other scientific careers.

It’s not a hacking competition but rather an anti-hacking competition. It teaches only defensive means of fixing vulnerabilities and hardening systems.

Sisler School started the Academy for Network and Cyber Security three years ago. It offers computer courses normally only offered in post-secondary, combined with event-based learning like CyberPatriot Games.

The school sent teams to compete in the exhibition rounds the past two years, but this year will compete for the top spot.

The boys, their coach and teacher will head to the competition in Washington, D.C. in March. They say they have a fighting chance, having plced second in the qualifying round.