Gifted & Talented

Why have a gifted, talented and able (GTA) programme?

The school aims to personalise the educational experience of each student as much as possible, tailoring it to their individual needs.  Students who are particularly able in one or more subjects require a different experience to other students in those areas.  The aim of the programme is to support the provision of this different experience.

What sort of different experiences are offered?

Each subject has its own ‘gifted and talented’ policy which specifies what is on offer.  In all cases there is in-class extension where the tasks or approaches are different for more able students.  In addition there are subject-specific offerings.  These may take the form of different groupings (e.g. into sets), different courses (e.g. three separate sciences), early entry for exams, extra-curricular clubs (e.g. sports teams, Latin, school band) or educational visits.  A Leading Teacher for GTA works across departments to spread good practice through the school’s Learning and Teaching group.

As well as these subject-centred offerings, the school runs and funds a whole-school programme that gives access to both local events and those further afield.   The Local Authority, schools and some universities run events in the region at least once a term and several students attend these each year.  A small number of older students attend residential university summer schools.  The national programme, called “Young Gifted and Talented” with which all our identified students are registered, runs discussion forums and other online activities as well as real-life events that students can attend with the school’s support.

How do you select students to participate?

All of the provision outlined above is available to all students – there is no ‘exclusive club’ at our school.  Nevertheless the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) requires all schools to identify a group of GTA students and report their progress regularly.  We use input from teachers and parents, as well as test scores, to decide which students are identified to the DCSF each year.  Our students develop at different rates so the list changes annually but all students, whether currently, previously or never identified to the DCSF, can participate in the programme.

What guidance is available for able students?

Students are encouraged to complete an electronic Individual Learning Plan (ILP).  This outlines their skills and abilities and encourages them to think about how those skills can be applied to other areas of the curriculum and beyond.  In addition the ILP helps students to focus on their goals and what they need to do to achieve them.  Students are guided in the production of the plan by their tutor and the school’s Leading Teacher for GTA.  They discuss the plan along with their monitoring report with their parents/carers and tutor on Consultation Day early in the Spring Term.  The resulting action plan helps to guide their learning for the coming year.

How do we find out more?

Students are informed about events by their teachers, email and notices throughout the school.  Students who wish to enquire about events should contact the Leading Teacher for GTA in school.  There are regular updates for parents in the school newsletter and on the website.  Parents who have a specific concern or query should address this in the first instance to their child’s tutor.