High potential and gifted education

At Goolgowi Public School, located in a regional and remote community, we embrace the unique opportunities to support High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) through an inclusive, culturally safe, and welcoming learning environment. We recognise and celebrate the diverse strengths of every student and are committed to ensuring they connect, succeed, and thrive.

Our Commitment
Aligned with the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE policy, we provide supportive and stimulating learning experiences designed to nurture giftedness across four key domains:

Creative: Encouraging originality and innovative thinking through diverse artistic and problem-solving activities.
Intellectual: Offering enriched learning that fosters advanced thinking, deep inquiry, and knowledge development.
Physical: Supporting physical skills and wellbeing through targeted sports and activities that promote health and coordination.
Social-Emotional: Prioritising wellbeing with programs that build resilience, self-awareness, and positive relationships.

Innovative Regional Partnerships & Opportunities
Being a regional school enables us to collaborate with neighbouring schools and community organisations, sharing expertise and resources to extend learning.

Our students benefit from:

Access to enriched learning programs tailored to their unique abilities and aspirations.
Opportunities to engage in interregional sports and leadership activities.
Use of technology to bridge distance and diverse backgrounds, ensuring equitable access to talent development.
Inclusive support and adjustments for students with disabilities to ensure full participation.

Community and Family Engagement
We work closely with families and the wider community to know each student well and provide the targeted support they need. Our partnerships empower student voice and advocacy, fostering a strong sense of belonging and motivation.

At Goolgowi Public School, we are proud to nurture the whole child—creatively, intellectually, physically, and emotionally—preparing every learner for lifelong success and wellbeing.

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

At Goolgowi Public School, we are dedicated to recognising and nurturing high potential and gifted students, ensuring every learner thrives. Our teaching practices identify and challenge students’ needs using evidence-based methods, offering enrichment, extension, and acceleration pathways. Our supportive classrooms inspire belonging, creativity, risk-taking, and collaboration.

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.
Opportunities to take on lead roles in physical demonstrations or team strategy.
Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.

Across our school

Providing opportunities for high potential and gifted education (HPGE) students at a school-wide level is crucial to create an inclusive environment that recognises and values diverse talents. It ensures that gifted learners receive tailored support and challenges within their everyday learning, promoting engagement and academic growth. School-wide initiatives also encourage a culture of high expectations and inspire all students to reach their full potential.

Academic competitions
Maths Olympiad
Dance group
School musicals and concerts
Visual arts and drama show cases
House competitions
Student leadership
Student Parliament
Wellbeing programs
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.

Across the Network and State

Providing opportunities for high potential and gifted education (HPGE) students at regional and state levels is essential to ensure equitable access to advanced learning resources and experiences beyond the classroom. These opportunities foster social connections among like-minded peers, encourage collaboration, and support the development of leadership and critical thinking skills. Additionally, they help maximise the potential of gifted students, contributing positively to their personal growth and future contributions to the community and society. Goolgowi Public School currently offers the following opportunities at a regional and state level:

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.
Our STEM Enrichment Partnerships with the STEM Academy deepens our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration.
Kids Rapt on Performing (KROP) is an iconic performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across the Griffith network of schools.
Operation is a vibrant and enriching program designed to inspire and challenge our high potential and gifted students in the creative domain, specifically in visual arts.