Canberra Girls Grammar School (CGGS) seeks to nurture the gifts and talents that students bring to our school community, whilst encouraging all students to fulfill their academic and personal potential in an atmosphere of support and encouragement.
Giftedness may occur in different areas, including the creative arts, academic subjects, sporting endeavours, social justice, and leadership undertakings. We recognise that talent development is likely to take momentum when the curriculum is accessed at a faster pace, with less repetition, and delivered to students alongside like-minded peers. We also acknowledge that some gifted students have special needs that may require provisions beyond those readily available in the regular classroom, whilst others may benefit from individual support to assist them in meeting their potential.
CGGS has a balanced set of identification processes in place, including informal methods of data collection and recognition of more formal indicators of performance and potential. Our aim is to subsequently provide high-quality, specialised programs and learning environments to meet the needs of our identified high potential and gifted learners. These provisions may include curriculum compacting, cluster grouping, above-level testing, subject acceleration, targeted enrichment, gifted and talented profiles, and in-class differentiation. The school invests in the professional development of teaching staff, with a number of teachers having undertaken Gifted Education courses.
Within and beyond the classroom, extension and enrichment opportunities abound, including:
Ethics Olympiad, da Vinci Decathlon, Tournament of Minds, Write a Book in a Day, ICAS competitions, Australian Maths Trust competitions, Mathematical Olympiads, Debating, Gateways courses, and the National History Challenge.