High potential and gifted education
Some students learn faster and more easily than others. These students may shine in creativity, thinking, leadership or sport.
At our school, we recognise and nurture these strengths early. We support advanced learners with great lessons and activities to help them grow and thrive.
Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?
Recognising potential and developing talent
Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.
Tailored lessons
Each student has different abilities. Teachers respond to each student’s ability by providing extra challenges and extension activities to keep learning exciting and engaging.
Rich opportunities and activities
Students can take part in opportunities to develop their talent in the arts, sport, leadership and more.
Opening doors to wider experiences
Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunities that aim to extend and enrich student potential.
What is high potential and gifted education?
High potential and gifted education (HPGE) is how our school supports students with advanced learning needs.
We do this through:
- effective teaching strategies like enrichment, extension and acceleration
- tailored support during lessons that stretch, challenge and inspire
- access to a wide range of opportunities both within and beyond our school.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
Every classroom at Lake Heights Public school caters for students displaying giftedness. We do this through:
- Differentiating tasks for all learners, considering pace, complexity, and higher order thinking.
- Offering advanced learning pathways, including accelerated or compacted content where appropriate.
- Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
- Expert assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
- Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
- Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
Across our school, we offer a wide variety of opportunities for gifted learners, across all domains. Currently our school participates in:
- Debating
- STEM lessons
- Academic competitions
- Music ensembles
- Visual arts and drama showcases
- Sport squads
- House competitions
- Peer mentoring
- Student leadership (SRC)
- Wellbeing programs
- Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
Across our system, we offer a wide variety of opportunities for gifted learners, across all domains. Currently our school participates in:
- The Illawarra 'Extend Program' for Year 5 students. This is a 25 week program, offered one day a week at our school for students who are successful in an application process targeting interested students who display signs of giftedness in their learning.
- The Premier’s Spelling Bee promotes our students’ vocabulary development and attention to detail in competitive settings.
- STEM Enrichment Partnerships with industry and universities, which deepen our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration.
- Southern Stars, which is an iconic performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools.
- The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA events, which enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.
Help for your high potential child
If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.
Student opportunities and activities
Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.
Learning
Find out about our approach to learning and supporting students to progress