Inspire – 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?
Inspire – 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.
What we offer
Creative and Performing Arts
Within Creative and Performing Arts, Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) students are supported through a diverse and vibrant range of co-curricular opportunities designed to extend their talents and foster creative excellence. Our annual school musical begins rehearsals in the first weeks of the year and culminates in a full production in May, offering roles in lead cast, chorus, orchestra and backstage management, with rehearsals held on Monday afternoons and additional Tuesday sessions in Term 2. Students can further develop their musical expertise through Concert Band (rehearsing Wednesdays after school with regular public performances each term) and our school choir, which rehearses on Thursday afternoons and performs at major events including Schools Spectacular, Pulse and other community showcases. Visual Arts students are invited to participate in Art Club, held Thursday lunchtimes in P6, providing a warm and vibrant space for independent creative projects. For contemporary musicians, our Friday afternoon ‘jam’ sessions offer a collaborative, student-led performance environment. Dance ensembles, typically including Jazz and Contemporary, rehearse at lunchtimes and perform in Eisteddfods, Schools Spectacular and school showcases each year. Together, these programs provide rich extension pathways for students demonstrating high potential across the creative and performing arts.
English
Within English, Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) students are extended through a range of enrichment and academic challenge opportunities. Students may participate in Debating and Public Speaking programs, refining their critical thinking, persuasive writing and confident oral communication skills in competitive and collaborative settings. They are also encouraged to enter the Whitlam Institute What Matters Writing Competition, which invites students to craft thoughtful and original responses to contemporary issues of importance. Engagement with leading authors and ideas is further supported through participation in the Sydney Writers' Festival school program and visits. In addition, all English programs incorporate differentiated learning activities designed to extend high potential students, ensuring depth, complexity and intellectual challenge are embedded within everyday classroom practice.
Mathematics
Students identified as High Potential and Gifted in Years 7 and 8 are provided with enriching and challenging opportunities within our Mathematics program. HPGE classes participate in the Maths Olympiad, including the Senior Division Maths Olympiad (Division S), an inter-school competition specifically designed to extend and challenge high potential and high achieving students. This competition fosters advanced problem-solving skills, mathematical reasoning, and a spirit of academic excellence. For our Stage 6 students, a full range of senior Mathematics courses is available, with offerings extending through to Mathematics Extension 2, ensuring students are supported and challenged at the highest levels of study.
Sport
Our Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) Sport Program is designed to recognise and nurture students who demonstrate exceptional ability, motivation and potential within the physical domain. Through a structured talent identification process, the school actively identifies students who display advanced skills, strong athletic instincts or the capacity to excel with targeted development. Selected students participate in specialised coaching, skill refinement sessions and extension opportunities across a range of sports. The program not only enhances athletic performance, but also fosters confidence, resilience and a strong sense of personal achievement. Through access to high-quality training, representative pathways and tailored support, students are empowered to thrive in their chosen sporting pursuits, giving families confidence that their child’s talents are recognised, valued and developed within a structured and professionally guided environment.
Library
The Library provides a range of rich extension and enrichment opportunities to support Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) students across diverse domains of talent. Students may represent the school in the Da Vinci Decathlon, a state-wide academic competition held annually at Knox Grammar School, where teams in Years 7–11 compete against more than 100 schools across ten academic disciplines. Training sessions are provided in the lead-up to the event, enabling students to extend their abilities beyond the classroom through complex, practical problem-solving. Creative thinkers can participate in Write a Book in a Day, collaborating in teams to write and illustrate a complete book in a single day, while raising funds for The Kids' Cancer Project, with completed books donated to children in hospitals. Students with a passion for philosophy and critical thinking may engage in the Ethics Olympiad, where small teams explore and debate complex ethical dilemmas in structured dialogue with other schools. In addition, the Library curates a diverse collection of fiction and non-fiction texts to support advanced and self-directed reading, empowering students to deepen their knowledge, broaden perspectives and extend their intellectual growth at their own pace.
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.