High Potential and Gifted Education

Some students learn faster and more easily than others. At Ryde Secondary College, we are committed to recognising and nurturing high potential and gifted (HPGE) students, ensuring every student can thrive at our school. Our classroom practices support and extend HPGE students. We identify students' learning needs in the classroom and use evidence-informed teaching practices and stimulating activities to challenge and extend students

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

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.

We notice these students early. They may learn quickly or show strong skills in creativity, leadership, problem solving or sport. We help them stay challenged with lessons and activities that match their strengths.

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.

Differentiation in teaching and learning

At our school, we are committed to meeting the unique needs of HPGE students by using differentiation strategies that empower and challenge them. By strategically differentiation through choice, product, content, process, and learning environments, we create personalised learning experiences that foster engagement, creativity, and deeper understanding. This approach ensures that each student can explore their strengths, work at an appropriately challenging level, and develop critical thinking skills in ways that align with their learning style. Differentiation is embedded in programs, lessons, and resources used, to help teachers meet the needs of diverse students:

Content: providing more advanced or complex material tailored to students’ abilities..

Process: using varied activities, styles and strategies to deepen understanding and thinking.

Product: offering different ways to demonstrate learning, such as projects, dioramas or research.

Choice: allowing students to co-select topics or tasks that interest them to increase engagement.

Learning Environment: creating flexible spaces and setups that support individual learning preferences.

Acceleration may be offered after consideration of interest, opportunities and resources available. Our supportive classroom environments promote participation and engagement, a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration. Teachers are encouraged to use learning logs and reflections to enable students to provide regular feedback on their learning. 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.

Student learning with support from teacher.

Our HPGE opportunities

Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW. We provide a range of learning pathways, including enrichment and extension programs:

In our classroom

Our teaching and learning program offers our high school students the high academic standard they are seeking, whether in the selective, gifted and talented or mainstream, but in a setting which is co-educational, socially cohesive, inclusive and community focused. At our school we provide:

Differentiated teaching and learning through content, process, product, learning environment and choice.
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.
Explicit teaching of content fosters clarity in expectations, learning intentions, and mastery of learning.
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.
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.

Across our school

Our school recognises that every student is individual, and we provide flexible and diverse opportunities for students to explore and grow their strengths outside the classroom. Our school offers an extensive range of whole-school programs that support student growth across Intellectual, Creative, Physical and Social Emotional Domains of Potential:

Debating and public speaking
STEM and robotics clubs
School fashion and creative arts showcases
State and National academic competitions
Critical thinking programs
Music ensembles
Visual arts and drama showcases
Creative writing competitions
Volleyball Academy
Local Council programs
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Competitive sport
House competitions
Peer mentoring
Student representative council (SRC)
Wellbeing programs
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.

Across NSW

Our students participate in a wide range of statewide programs to extend and enrich student potential.

Statewide/NSW Department of Education level support is available for our high potential and gifted students. We provide access to local, state and national competitions and events to help students explore and extend their talents. At our school we offer the following opportunities and more:

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.
The Tournaments of the Minds and Da Vinci Decathlon provides an outlet for students to channel their creativity, flex their critical thinking, and develop their problem-solving skills.
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 music ensembles 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 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 RAISE mentoring programs connect our students with trusted adults including school alumni to build confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills.

Extending high potential and giftedness

Our range of opportunities and activities are thoughtfully designed across and between four key domains: Creative, Intellectual, Physical, and Social-Emotional. By participating in these programs, students have the opportunity to develop and achieve mastery, flex their natural talents, and strategically explore their potential. Explore the exciting opportunities below and discover how extra-curricular involvement can enrich your child's learning journey.

Student opportunities and activities

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Creative

Opportunities for high potential or gifted students to flex their imagination, invention, and originality.

Intellectual

Opportunities for high potential or gifted students to flex their problem-solving skills, understanding of complex ideas, and application of knowledge.