Gifted and Talented
A number of our more able students have been enrolled in the National Academy for Gifted & Talented Youth (NAGTY), which is aimed at the top 5% of students nationally. Many of our NAGTY students have benefited from the educational programmes, resources and other opportunities that this membership provides.
Whilst gifted & talented students are identified on the basis of attainment in public examinations, the school also acknowledges that many others have a particular aptitude and high potential within specific subject areas and targets these individuals with additional challenging enrichment activities.
The English department has organised a number of activities for the coming year which are aimed at gifted & talented students in year 7. In February 2008 students will have the opportunity to work with a visiting Creative Partnership practitioner and explore the theme of alienation through story telling and creative writing.
In March 2008 year 7 students will be watching a performance of the Black Cat Theatre Company's ‘Much Ado about Nothing'. The more able students will then be engaged in workshop sessions with actors to explore the deeper issues within the play.
In Maths gifted and talented students regularly participate in national competitions, including some which are run by universities. In the Junior Maths Challenge in April 2006 several students in years 7 and 8 achieved gold and silver awards for answering questions designed to challenge the best mathematicians in the country.
Further Maths Challenges are scheduled for years 7 and 8 in May 2008, for years 9, 10 and 11 in February 2008 and for gifted & talented sixth formers later this year.
The Science department encourages its most able sixth formers to participate in the very successful Education in Engineering Scheme. Students meet after school to conduct group work with engineers from local industries, including British Nuclear Fuels.
Some of our gifted and talented year 11 students who are members of a debating group, have made it through to the final of a competition run by the nuclear industry. The group will be discussing issues concerning nuclear and alternative energy sources.
The Science department also runs an after-school Astronomy club, which has proved very popular with the gifted and talented. In view its success and current level of interest, it is hoped that courses in GCSE Astronomy will soon be available as part of the curriculum.
As a Specialist Engineering College, the school actively encourages the most talented students who may be considering engineering or technological careers to compete for academic bursaries through the Arkwright Scholarship Trust.
Another successful venture which is linked to local industry is the Young Apprentice Programme, in which one student became the National Winner in 2006 and another the County Winner in 2007.
Some of our most able students taking GCSE Citizenship have also gained local recognition through press coverage for planning and organising charitable ventures to support worthy causes such as ‘Diabetes Cumbria'.
Gifted and talented year 8 & 9 students who already take French and German have recently begun to learn Russian as a lunchtime activity. They are making good progress with the linguistic challenge of the Cyrillic alphabet.
In addition to the extension work given to the more able students in Modern Languages, students are encouraged to develop their skills with internet resources accessible in lessons or independently at lunchtime.
In November 2007 the Business Studies department organised gifted & talented activities as part of the ‘National Enterprise Week'. Students from all age groups showed great enthusiasm in designing, developing and marketing products for this challenging competition.
The Sixth Form Centre organises a number of activities which are financed through Aim Higher sponsorship. Alongside higher education programmes and visits to universities in the north of England, a trip to Cambridge University is organised each year for high flying students intending to apply to the Oxbridge colleges. Students receive advice on applications and gain real insight into undergraduate life.
In previous years gifted & talented students in year10 have also participated in similar residential programmes to Oxford University.
Useful Links
Department for Children, Schools and Family
National Association for able children in Education
