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Gifted & Talented

We inspire and challenge our pupils both within and beyond their studies. We encourage all to be intellectually curious, whilst recognising that many will show a gift or talent in specific areas of their school life.

We define a gifted child as an able pupil who is generally considered to be in the top 5% of the ability range within a subject. Pupils may be gifted in more than one subject. Talent applies to exceptional ability in sport, music, drama, design and art. Gifted and talented pupils enjoy various opportunities provided by departments, at school and through academic competitions and external visits. Many of the children who are assessed as gifted will also become members of Symposium. Symposium is an academic society which meets regularly for discussion and to prepare individual research projects for our annual Symposium Showcase. Its members are selected from those Second, Third and Fourth year pupils who achieve well in the school examinations. 

• Being well ahead of their peers in the basic skills of speaking, writing and numeracy
• An ability to concentrate for long periods of time on material that interests them
• A retentive memory
• Thinking quickly and approaching problems flexibly
• Using abstract ideas at an early stage
• Enjoying complexity
• Being self-critical and critical of others
• Spotting inaccuracies and anomalies