High Potential and Gifted Education (Formerly GATs)

High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE; formerly GATs)

The Department of Education and communities has an extensive policy regarding the implementation of High Potential and Gifted Education programs within school.

School communities have the responsibility to:

• Develop effective and equitable procedures for identifying high potential and gifted students
• Implement developmentally appropriate programs for gifted and talented students
• Foster collaborative home-school partnerships to support high potential and gifted students

Teachers have the responsibility to:

• Select and implement a variety of teaching strategies for inclusion in programs for the range of gifted and talented students in their classes

At The Ponds High School we have dedicated enrichment classes for each year group as well as differentiated learning in every classroom, ensuring targeted teaching and learning activities are implemented to nurture the development of gifted and talented students.

Giftedness refers to potential distinctly beyond the average for the student’s age and encompasses a broad range of abilities in the intellectual, creative, socio emotional and physical domains.

Talent denotes achievement distinctly beyond the average for a student’s age as a result of application to training and practice.

The Ponds High School also offers a growing range of HPGE activities within the school, including:

• A wide variety of extra-curricular activites and clubs
• Opportunities to participate in academic competitions
• Public Speaking and Debating
• Participation in Project Based Learning
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) opportunites
• Professional learning for staff in the use of High potential and gifted education strategies through GERRIC (Gifted and Talented Research Resource and Information Centre)
• High Potential and Gifted Education student workshops focussing on problem solving and enrichment activities
• Specialised Programs for Year 7 and 8 including the Tournament of the Minds
• InnovateX - Design Thinking Programs

Applications for the Year 7 HPGE Class 2025 at The Ponds High School can be downloaded from 7 June 2024.

• All in-area students will be eligible to apply for the class
• The class will be primarily determined through achievement in the domains of literacy and numeracy
• HPGE applications are due to be submitted to the school administration office no later than 3:00pm on Friday, 28 June 2024.

The placement panel will consider a range of data including:

• Semester 2, 2023 Year 5 Primary School Report
• Year 5 NAPLAN Report
• Participation in external competitions
• School enrichment programs
• Previous leadership experience
• Parental comment
• Student comment

Students will remain in a core class for English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE, PDHPE and LOTE

HPGE Flyer 2024 for Year 7 2025