Gifted & Talented

Gifted and Talented: Our school ethos

G&T Parent Leaflet

NACE parent guide for more able learners

At King Edward VI, we believe it is really important that pupils of all abilities enjoy school, are encouraged to do their best and supported so they can develop into the best person they can be. Those pupils that are identified as Gifted, Talented or more able at KES are supported and challenged in their studies by all departments, to encourage them to flourish and pursue their interests whilst at school. We aim to provide a variety of extra-curricular activities and opportunities to promote growth for these pupils both academically and emotionally, in addition to combining this with high quality teaching and learning in lessons.

Who to contact

Miss G Merry – Lead Teacher for Gifted and Talented

gmerry@keslichfield.org.uk

Identification

Initial identification for the whole school list is based on KS2 data and information sent from Primary schools. From then on, Gifted and Talented students can be identified at any time throughout the school year through teacher nominations. Our ‘Core’ group will be identified in 5 or more subjects (both through data and teacher nominations); other pupils who excel in specific areas will be recorded on our more able list.

KS3 activities and opportunities

In addition to planning and teaching creative and challenging lessons, I clubdepartments across the school organise excellent extra-curricular trips and visits for the most able pupils in school. This ranges from the Maths Challenge to History Quest (in which the school came 1st this year!) at the University of Birmingham. Pupils will have the chance to attend Gifted and Talented club. We watch films from a range of different genres and then put some of the skills seen on screen into action! This year we have had talks about Astronomy after watching the Martian, in addition to a fantastic session on Memory with our Head of Social Sciences following on from watching the film Inception.

Year 7 also have the opportunity to get involved with the Children’s University scheme. This runs in conjunction with Staffordshire University, and encourages pupils to attend a broad Children unirange of extra-curricular clubs. Activities in school can go towards this, in addition to accredited locations around the UK including the National Memorial Arboretum and Shakespeare’s House in Stratford upon Avon.

www.childrensuniversity.co.uk.

 

KS4 activities and opportunities STEM Engineer

Pupils in Key Stage 4 also benefit from a range of additional opportunities on offer by different departments in school. This year, girls in years 9 and 10 took part in a STEM session, based on Chemical Engineering. They met a Chemical Engineer and found out more about pursuing a career in STEM based subjects. stemIn addition to this, there are sessions based around the most successful ways to revise for year 11 in amongst other supportive sessions offered by subjects. Key Stage 4 pupils are also very welcome to attend Gifted and Talented club, we have had some excellent reviews completed on the Into Film website and lots of pupils received prizes for their reviews.

The Scholars Program and the Brilliant Club – Run in Partnership with Oxbridge:

Each year, a group of year 10 G&T students have the opportunity participate in a series of 7 tutorials with a world leading PHD tutor on a super-curricular topic taught at 1 level above their current Key Stage.  Once the tutorials are complete, students are supported to write a 2000-word dissertation on the topic, critically analysing the academic information and arguments introduced in the tutorials. The programme aims to make students stand out on their UCAS applications for Russel Group Universities, as well as giving them an opportunity to experience university style learning and engage with a topic outside of their curriculum. New topics are assigned every year and designed by a PHD tutor and previous topics have included “Lighting Up Microbes: analysing microorganisms with light”, “Did modern music predict the first world war”, “could we predict dementia?” and “the healthy heart’”.

Once their dissertation is complete and graded, students are then rewarded with a graduation ceremony at top 5 university such as Warwick and Oxford to celebrate their achievements. More information on the Scholars Programme can be found here: The Scholars Programme – The Brilliant Club

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Key Stage 5

6th form students have a range of extra-curricular opportunities on mega quizoffer to them in their 2 years of study at school. In addition to this, we entered two teams into the ‘6th Form Mega Quiz’ this year, which involves teams from across the West Midlands held in the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham.

Support and Information

Activities and events for students to take part in will also be published on our school Twitter account: keslichfield (@keslichfield) / Twitter and covered in the G&T section of the school newsletter.

Please see the link below for our Gifted and talented Policy:

Policies & Documents | King Edward VI School Lichfield (keslichfield.org.uk)

Useful links and websites:

For Parents:

National Association for Gifted ChildrenThe National Association for Gifted Children is one of the best places for parents of gifted children to find resources, reading, help, and advice on raising an exceptional child.

Mensa for KidsMensa embraces younger members through this website, offering up monthly themes and ideas to get students reading and learning at an advanced level

For KS3-4 students:

BBC Future– A series which explores interesting questions, from ‘What’s the best age to learn a language?’ to ‘Can AI help cure loneliness?’

Oxplore– As the ‘Home of Big Questions‘, Oxplore tackles complex ideas and offers a chance for you to debate and think widely across a range of subjects while drawing on the latest research undertaken at Oxford.

The Oxplore Book Club– Discover a new book every month until the summer break, and enjoy author profiles, quizzes, videos and more. You will be able to submit your own book reviews for the chance to win prizes and there will be a monthly book chat on Zoom with some very special guests.

Ted Talks– Short and fascinating talks discussing lots of bold ideas.

Zooniverse– A chance for you to contribute online to real-life research projects.

Staircase 12– A hub of resources and information to help you explore your subjects outside the classroom, run by University College, Oxford.

For subject specific opportunities please see the attached G&T parent leaflet or contact heads of department

For KS5 Students:

My HE Plus – Created by the University of Cambridge, this website helps you to explore subjects beyond the classroom

Outreach event calendar | University of Oxford – Opportunities to sign up for tours, webinars, interview preparation techniques if you are looking to apply to Oxbridge

For students over 16 | University of Oxford – a website which directs you to subject specific further reading opportunities

Zero Gravity | Unleash your university ambition – Sign up for free to be assigned a personal mentor from Oxbridge who will give one-to-one guidance on your personal statements, revision techniques, further reading and more