High potential and gifted education

At Nords Wharf Public School, every learner’s potential is our priority. We foster a culture of high expectations and equity in excellence, ensuring every student, regardless of background, has the opportunity to develop their potential. In collaboration with the Galgabba Community of Schools we undertake the Galgabba Domain Discover Day to support students to identify their strengths.

Our school offers a range of opportunities across the 4 domains of potential: creative, intellectual, physical and social-emotional. Some examples of our offerings include:

Creative Domain: We provide opportunities for students to develop innovative thinking and artistic expression, encouraging originality and problem-solving through diverse creative activities. We;
- are participants in Star Struck;
- run art club year round to ensure student agency and excellence is showcased throughout the school with their innovative murals and beautification projects;
- students write, choreograph and produce whole school performances bi-annually; and
- are participants in amplify music program across the school.
Intellectual Domain: We challenge students with enriched learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and advanced knowledge across the curriculum. We;
- have in class teaching and learning teams to support excellence for every students with their classroom teacher, school learning support officer and assistant principal;
- have think tank accessible for every student to seek feedback to improve their work and to undertake individualised projects with support;
- participate in the Game Changer Challenge annually and made the semi-finals in 2024;
- offer a range of opportunities across the Galgabba Community of School including spelling bee, public speaking and debate.
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. We;
- have an active Student Representative Council that students have named the "Nordsy Ninjas" involving students from Kindergarten to Year 6 to have active student voice across the school;
- are participants in The Resilience Project (TRP) as well as Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL);
- are annual participants in the GRIP Leadership program; and
- have students trained to support their peers through peer mediation.
Physical Domain: Recognising the importance of physical development, we support students in enhancing their coordination, health, and physical skills through targeted activities and sports. We;
- participate in a wide range of student nominated sports, showcasing our commitment to incorporating student voice and agency in our school planning;
- participate in PSSA Sport; and
- make use of Sports in School funding to offer sporting opportunities for every student.

Our offerings engage and challenge every student, including a strong focus on talent development for high potential and gifted learners.

You can learn more about high potential and gifted education at our school, and how we find high potential and support talent development on our website.

At Nords Wharf Public School, we are dedicated to implementing the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE policy authentically and in consultation with our school community. This approach nurtures the potential of every learner across these four domains.

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.

In our classroom

Our teaching and learning teams work collaboratively to know the specific strengths of each learner and how they learn to develop individualised teaching and learning plans to ignite curiosity, maintain passion for learning and support achievement.

Across our school

At Nords Wharf Public School we nurture High Potential and Gifted students across the school. We have a range of enrichment programs across all domains, leadership opportunities and strong community partnerships. We ignite curiosity and passion to challenge and inspire our learners.

Across NSW

Across NSW public schools, High Potential and Gifted students are supported through evidence-based programs, flexible learning pathways, and enriched opportunities. From classroom differentiation to state-wide competitions, specialist programs, and cross-school partnerships, every student is encouraged to achieve personal excellence and thrive in learning and life.