High potential and gifted education
At Holbrook Public School, we are proud to align our approach with the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy, which recognises the diverse strengths and needs of gifted and high potential students. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive learning environment that challenges and extends all learners, ensuring they are engaged, motivated, and able to reach their full potential. Our programs are designed to identify and nurture giftedness across multiple domains, reflecting the Department’s emphasis on catering to the whole child. By embracing a broad view of giftedness, we aim to foster excellence not only academically but also creatively, physically, and socially, preparing students for lifelong success and wellbeing.
Our approach focuses on four key domains:
· Creative Domain: We provide opportunities for students to develop innovative thinking and artistic expression, encouraging originality and problem-solving through diverse creative activities.
· Intellectual Domain: We challenge students with enriched learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and advanced knowledge across the curriculum.
· Physical Domain: Recognising the importance of physical development, we support students in enhancing their coordination, health, and physical skills through targeted activities and sports.
· Social-Emotional Domain: We prioritise the emotional wellbeing and social development of gifted students, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and positive relationships to help them thrive within our school community.
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.
At Holbrook Public School, HPGE lives in everyday practice. Many students have high potential, and we help that potential to grow into something powerful.
· Teachers identify students' learning needs in the classroom and use evidence-informed teaching practices to challenge and extend students. We provide learning pathways, including enrichment and extension programs and acceleration.
· Our supportive classroom environments promote a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration.
· Groups are flexible, students take lead roles, and feedback is strengths-based with clear goals and self-assessment.
· Our teachers engage in professional learning to support the diverse needs of all students, including our high potential and gifted learners.
Every student is individual, so opportunities are flexible and diverse.
· Students deepen strengths through debating, academic competitions, cultural celebrations, public speaking, chess competitions and high interest activities.
· Talent is celebrated through school productions and showcases such as visual arts programs, School choir, Pulse Alive Dance Troupe and Activate Groups
· Leadership grows through SRC Leadership Team, Sporting House Captains, class representatives, mentoring and peer coaching, and wellbeing is made visible through our ‘Resilience Project’ focus, various social clubs and interest opportunities.
· Daily life invites curiosity and belonging, with Open Library at lunch, Breakfast Club, plus our community volunteering programs.
· Sport matters too, with knockout competitions, training, coaching and school, zone, Riverina and state carnivals, as well as inclusive sport competitions and gala days that include differentiated PE.
Our students participate in a wide range of statewide programs to extend and enrich student potential.
· Students participate in opportunities such as Aurora College, School Spectacular, Premier’s Spelling Bee, Premier’s Multicultural Public Speaking, Premier Sporting Challenge, Premier's Debating Challenge and Representative School Sport Pathways.
· Statewide and NSW Department of Education support is available for high potential and gifted students, and we help with entries, preparation and reflection so every experience feeds back into learning.
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.