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 Nichoslon Street, we recognise and nurture these strengths early. We support advanced learners with lessons and activities to help them meet their highest potential.
Why choose Nicholson Street for your high potential or gifted child?
Recognising potential and developing talent
Nicholson Street Public School supports high potential and gifted learners through early identification, ongoing tracking and a wide range of enrichment opportunities across academic, creative, social-emotional and physical domains. Identification is rigorous and embedded in Learning and Support Team processes, using multiple assessment tools, parent and teacher referral to build a clear picutre of each student's strenghts. Ongoing consultation with families ensures a shared understanding of studetn needs and guides long-term talent development.
Tailored lessons
Our teachers ensure all learnig is appropriately challenging for every student through tailored lessons and differentiated instruction. We understand that students have diverse strengths and abilities, and adjust content, tasks and expectations so each learner is extended at the right level. Purposeful challenging activities, enrichment tasks and opportunities for deeper thinking are embedded in classroom practice to stretch students who are ready, while targeted scaffolds support others to build skills and confidence.
Rich opportunities and activities
We offer rich opportunities for students to develop talents across academic, creative, leadership and sporting domains. Students can extend themselves through programs such as debating, public speaking, choir, band, sport, Student Government, along with dedicated STEAM Enrichment and CAPA Enrichment programs taught by specialist teachers. We also establish bespoke, diferentiated learing spirals, aligned to personal learning goals in all domains to support students who are ready for higher-level learning.
Opening doors to wider experiences
Students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunites that aim to extend and enrich their potential. These include programs such as public speaking competitions, the School Spectacular, MindQuest, regional and state sporting pathways, maths challenges and selective enrichment opportunites. Together, these experiences allow students to showcase their talents, connect with like-minded peers and engage in learning beyond the classroom.
What is high potential and gifted education?
High potential and gifted education (HPGE) programs are how our school supports students with advanced learning needs. We focus on four domains of HPGE: academic, sporting, social and creative.
Nicholson Street Public School offers:
- 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.
For additional information see, High potential and gifted education.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
- Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.
- Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
- Advanced learning pathways, including accelerated or compacted content.
- Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
- Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
- Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
- Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation.
- Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE.
- Targeted learning goals for coordination, agility, and control.
- Opportunities to take on lead roles in physical demonstrations or team strategy.
- Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self-assessment.
- Strengths-based feedback and goal setting.
- Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
- Structured peer collaboration and reflection.
- Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.
- Debating
- STEM and coding clubs
- Academic competitions
- Critical thinking workshops
- School musicals
- Music ensembles
- Visual arts and drama showcases
- Creative writing groups
- Sport squads
- House competitions
- Performance-based movement groups
- Peer mentoring
- Student leadership (SRC)
- Wellbeing programs
- Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
- The Premier’s Spelling Bee promotes our students’ vocabulary development and attention to detail in competitive settings.
- The Premier’s Debating Challenge helps our students to build logical arguments and confidence in public speaking.
- Our STEM Enrichment Partnerships with industry and universities deepen our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration.
- Involvement in the Game Changer Challenge empowers our students to solve future-focused problems using design thinking.
- The Schools Spectacular is an iconic performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools.
- Participation in (state/regional) drama ensembles promotes character exploration, storytelling and expressive freedom for our Stage 5 high potential and gifted drama students.
- Participation in music ensembles (e.g. State Wind Orchestra, State Choirs) hones our students’ musical skills, discipline and ensemble awareness.
- The Premier’s Sporting Challenge (PSC) promotes whole-school participation in physical activity with leadership pathways and professional learning.
- The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA and CHSSA events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.
- Participation in state-wide dance ensembles develops our high potential and gifted Stage 5 dance students’ technical skills, performance presence and physical expressiveness.
- Our mentoring programs connect our students with trusted adults including school alumni to build confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills.
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.