Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)

Gifted and talented students are those who have the ability to perform at a level significantly higher than their peers.
With an appropriately challenging and stimulating curriculum available across both the Junior and Senior schools, these students can reach their full potential and achieve emotional, physical and intellectual wellbeing. Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of programmes at each year level as they work their way through their education.

Years 1-6: Enrich
Selected students are exposed to enrichment and extension opportunities in music, science and maths.

Years 7-8: Quest
Robotics, Future Problem Solving, writing workshops, philosophy, mathematical problem solving and in-depth research are programmes that are available for students in the middle school years. The aim is to provide intellectually challenging activities.

Years 11-13: Fast Forward
Students have the opportunity to be accelerated in certain subjects within the Senior School. The dual pathways of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and International Baccalaureate (IB) provide choices and challenge for students with exceptional ability, as well as early entry into university study.

GATE Programmes

Maths Extension
Students are invited to participate in maths enrichment outside the classroom. They follow a programme designed specifically for each individual to extend their current capability.

Music Enrichment
Junior students use musical software to work with a song, choosing backing sounds, creating a pre-recorded beat using a digital drum and make a recording of their own singing against the backing. They might create and record a radio play with music and sound effects. Another option is for students to choose images on a theme and find music that evokes the mood of each image, adding narration and sound effects then transferring this to DVD. Recording a story with a musical background and image to create an e-book is another activity available to music enrichment students.

Science Enrichment
Junior School students choose a topic of study which interests them to investigate. In the past, students have explored light and water, structures, or floating and sinking.

Future Problem Solving
Teams from Y7-11 are entered in the National Future Problem Solving programme and competition. This involves research and understanding of a large global issue e.g. cyber conflict, invasive species. The students are then given a scenario set in the future where they must come up with an action plan to solve the problem the scenario contains. They follow a prescribed six-step process of analysis, creativity, judgement in terms of set criteria and possible solution. (See the accompanying story about our this year’s Future Problem Solvers)

Debating
While this activity is open to all interested students, it is particularly suited to gifted and talented students who find it stimulating and valuable, particularly if they are looking toward a career in law.

Departmental and Co-curricular Programmes

Senior students can take part in programmes run by the Liggins Institute, Australian chemistry Competition, Brain Bee, Biology and Chemistry Olympiads, Geography and History quizzes, a number of sporting codes, writing competitions and many more.

Conferences
Students in Y10-13 take part in an Australasian Academy Conference held at St Cuthbert’s for students all over Auckland. This is aimed at giving students opportunities to mix with able students from other schools and listen to lectures on interesting topics aimed at what would normally be tertiary level.

Speakers’ Series
Each year students can hear inspirational speakers who are invited to share their insights and wise thoughts on the journey of life. This year the speakers include Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand and Brent Impey, Media Consultant and Executive Director of the Fred Hollows Foundation (NZ).