Guildford County School

Teaching and Learning / Gifted and talented

Gifted and Talented at Guildford County School

Who are the Gifted and Talented?

 
The Department for children, schools and families (formerly the DfES) use ‘gifted’ as a term denoting academic ability and ‘talented’ to denote special ability in the arts, sports or other area.
An able / gifted / talented student will show significant talent or ability in one or more of these areas:
Physical talent
Artistic or musical talent
Mechanical ingenuity
Leadership
High intelligence
Creativity
 

Excellence in Cities targets more able work at the top 5-10% of pupils. At GCS we recognise some of our students are ‘more able’ and some will have a talent in a particular area, e.g. music or sport.

 

How do we identify the Gifted and Talented?

We endeavour to recognise the talents of all our students, including those with special educational needs, using a combination of the following strategies:
  • Teacher recommendation
  • Standardised tests (e.g. SATs, NFER test)
  • Assessment of classwork
  • Information from previous schools
  • The use of generic and subject-specific checklists
  • Ongoing observations and assessment
  • External agencies e.g. sports clubs, music organisations, drama groups
  • Parent observations
 

What do we offer the Gifted and Talented?

These two quotes from the Ofsted inspection in October 2006 give a flavour of the provision available:
“The curriculum is good throughout the school with outstanding opportunities for enhancement and enrichment, particularly in music. The extensive range of extra-curricular activities and clubs suit a wide range of interests. The opportunities provided for boys to sing are exceptional.”
 
“Gifted and talented students have good opportunities outside and within school to further their special interests and talents in subjects and via mock United Nations and magistrate's court.”
 
We use a range of teaching and organisational strategies to provide the best learning opportunities for all our students, including the gifted and talented. Extension within the curriculum is obviously a large part of the provision but we have detailed below some of the additional extension and enrichment activities.
 
Extension and enrichment activities and competitions for Gifted and Talented students
There are numerous sporting and musical activities for students with talents and interests in these areas.
 
There are various other activities and competitions, some of which are included below. The list grows every year as additional competitions and opportunities present themselves and we are always keen to participate! For further details please contact Mrs Nurton, Assistant Headteacher.
 

Event
Year groups involved
Summary of event
When it takes place
Mock Magistrates’ Court Competition (National Competition)
See Photo
Years 8 and 9
Students take on the roles of those within a Magistrates court. E.g. lawyers, witnesses and court staff to ‘try’ a case.
November to March
Mock bar Court Competition (National Competition)
 
Year 11 and Sixth Form
Students take on the roles of those in a crown court to ‘try’ a case.
September to November
Construction, Design and Engineering
See Photo
Year 8
One day competition for a team of 8 students held at a Surrey school
November
Model United Nations
See Photo
 
 
 
Years 10, 11 and Sixth form
Teams of three take on the role of a country in the UN to formulate draft resolutions and debate them in a UN style chamber.
November
Drama workshop
Years 10 and 11
Talented Drama students are invited to participate in a weekend theatrical event
October
The Great Debate
Key Stage 4
Surrey debating competition
Autumn term
Exceptionally Able Mathematics Conference
Year 7
A day event for able mathematicians
Summer term
Master Chef competition
Years 7, 8, 9 and 10
Students create a three course dinner in ‘Master chef’ style!
Summer term
Guildford Think Tank
See photo we came second in 2007!)
Year 9
An inter-schools competition for teams of year 9 students.
Summer term
Master classes e.g. Egyptian and Art
Years 7, 8 and 9
Half day event for interested students held in school
Held at different times throughout the year.

 
 
National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY)
We recommend students who are eligible apply for membership of NAGTY as it offers them a range of opportunities such as day events, summer schools and an on-line forum for gifted and talented young people. At GCS we have over 90 students who have been accepted as members of NAGTY.
 
From 1st September 2007 the responsibility for national provision for gifted and talented youth moved to ‘Young Gifted and Talented’ (YG&T)  run by the CfBT Education Trust. Their website can be found at   http://ygt.dcsf.gov.uk/Landing.aspx
 
All NAGTY student members will have continued access to membership services and opportunities through this new website from 1 September 2007. When there is more information about YG&T we will let you know!
 
Websites
The following websites may be of interest:
http://www.nace.co.uk/               National Association for Able Children
http://www.londongt.org/homepages/index.php    London Gifted and talented.
http://www.mensa.org.uk/           Mensa
http://nrich.maths.org/public/      Online Mathematical learning support for able Mathematicians
 
 
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