text: It's constantly battling to protect us from terrorism and the host of other major threats in the modern world. So you might think MI5 would have more important things to worry about than running a competition for Blue Peter viewers to go to ‘spy school’. But that is exactly what has happened, after three youngsters won a competition to visit MI5’s London HQ. The children even got to attend a meeting with the security service’s director-general Andrew Parker. The winning contestants with Andrew Parker of MI5 (left). The group were allowed inside the service's HQ . The budding young Bonds (seen here played by Daniel Craig) were chosen from among 5,700 other hopefuls . Jamie, 13, Reuben, 13, and ten-year-old Finley were selected after a series of ‘difficult’ tests to show they are young spies in the making. Codenamed Project Petra, the initiative was the first time cameras were allowed to film inside the MI5 building. It comes at a time when the UK’s intelligence agencies are busier than ever before fighting threats from Al Qaeda, Islamic State and Russia. And their ability to track foreign and home-grown terrorists and monitor their communications has been severely damaged due to the intelligence leaks by ex-US spy Edward Snowden. Some 5,700 children applied to the competition, making it one of the most popular in Blue Peter’s history. The young candidates had to complete a series of challenges and impress a judging panel made up of children’s author Anthony Horowitz, TV presenter and journalist Sonali Shah and Professor Christopher Andrew, the Security Service’s official historian. The finalists had to solve a series of clues to work out the location of the 'spy school' in Manchester . The lucky trio with director general Andrew Parker (left) and Blue Peter presenter Barney Harwood (second left) In last week’s episode, eight finalists had to crack codes to establish the location of the ‘spy school’, which was set up in the offices of accountancy firm KPMG in Manchester. And yesterday, the candidates were whittled down to the final three in a series of tests, including being quizzed on what they remembered from a walk around Manchester city centre to test their observational skills. Their guided tour of the MI5 building, which took place last month, will be shown in the third and final episode next Thursday. Finley, from Surrey, said: ‘When I first entered MI5 it was way cooler than I thought it would be and I got to see loads of things that no-one else will ever get to see.’ Cameras were allowed to film inside MI5 as the boy's dreams came true when they went on a guided tour . Jamie, from Glasgow, added that it ‘felt really cool because we were making history’ and Reuben, from North Yorkshire, said: ‘Being there for the very first time cameras have been allowed inside MI5 was an awesome experience and I loved doing it.’ The Blue Peter stunt came as Britain’s intelligence agencies launched a fresh drive to recruit more gay, ethnic and disabled spies. MI5, MI6 and GCHQ have teamed up with gay rights charity Stonewall and other equal opportunities groups in a bid to attract employees from different backgrounds. An advert for the initiative, which was launched last year, said: ‘Today’s spies come from every background modern Britain has on offer, a cultural and linguistic breadth that enables them to operate against every threat the UK faces. ‘Diversity is not a “nice to have”, it is essential for them to succeed.’ The competition's final hopefuls in Manchester searching for 'spy school' before the three winners emerged . Jamie, Finley and Rueben turned out to be the best budding spies, coming out on top in Blue Peter's challenge . In the first episode, broadcast last week, the children had to break a series of codes to find the location of ‘spy school’. Can you crack the codes? Left to right: Jamie, Rueben and Finley were the winners of a chance to have a go at being a real James Bond . Jamie, 13, from Glasgow . Jamie is a self-confessed gadget geek and would love to design gizmos for the spy agency. He has already won an engineering award for designing a special pair of gloves for astronauts to wear in space. His favourite subjects at school include maths, physics and chemistry. Jamie enjoys long distance running and jokes it could help him escape in tricky situations. Why does he want to be a spy? ‘The danger really,’ he said. ‘You don’t know what’s going to happen. You could go out and anything could go wrong.’ Reuben, 13, from North Yorkshire . Reuben describes himself as a ‘polymath’, someone who is a good all-rounder and he was praised by the judges for excelling in all areas. He loves playing rugby and says he is an adrenaline junkie who is not afraid to throw himself into dangerous situations. He is also very logical and enjoys solving riddles and cracking codes. Ruben said: ‘What is quite useful it that I am kind of a polymath so I’m quite good at everything: physical stuff, mental stuff, languages, so it’s not just having one speciality.’ Finley, 10, from Surrey . Still at primary school, Finley was one of the youngest candidates. He impressed by writing his application to be on the show in code – you had to read it in a mirror. Finley is a keen reader and a fan of the Secret Seven detective classics by Enid Blyton and James Bond. His favourite subjects are geography and sport. He says playing football has helped him be aware of what is happening around him, while swimming gives him stamina.
target: Jamie, 13, Reuben, 13 and Finley, 10, are on their way to becoming spooks .
  TV cameras allowed into London headquarters just for children's show .
  Trio even got to meet with security service director general Andrew Parker .
  Stunt comes with MI5 busier than ever battling terrorism and rise of Russia .