High potential and gifted education
At Banksia Road Public School, we recognise and nurture the strengths of students with high potential across all HPGE domains. Through targeted teaching, enrichment and extension opportunities, we support advanced learners to think deeply, be challenged and excel. Our practices align with the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE Policy and ensure every student is encouraged to reach their full potential.
Our approach focuses on four key domains:
- Creative Domain: We provide opportunities for students to develop innovative thinking and artistic expression, encouraging originality and problem-solving through diverse creative activities.
- Intellectual Domain: We challenge students with enriched learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and advanced knowledge across the curriculum.
- Physical Domain: Recognising the importance of physical development, we support students in enhancing their coordination, health, and physical skills through targeted activities and sports.
- Social-Emotional Domain: We prioritise the emotional wellbeing and social development of gifted students, fostering resilience, self-awareness, and positive relationships to help them thrive within our school community.
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.
Intellectual
- Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and incorporate higher-order thinking across all KLAs
- Teachers embed formative assessment, feedback and differentiated learning goals through clearly differentiated Learning Intentions and Success Criteria.
- Development of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies through explicit teaching of learning dispositions and character strengths
Creative
- Development of creativity through explicit teaching of learning dispositions and character strengths.
- Open-ended investigations and design tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
- Opportunities to innovate, imagine and express through visual arts, dance, music, drama, writing and STEAM projects
Social-Emotional
- Our supportive classroom environments promote a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration.
- Targeted development and explicit teaching of learning dispositions and character strengths related to intrapersonal and interpersonal skills and directly linking them to learning and positive social interactions
- Personalised strengths-based feedback and goal setting/reflection
- Classroom leadership opportunities, such as our Student Representative Council (SRC)
- Structured collaboration and peer mentoring
- Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation
Physical
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Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE
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Opportunities to take on lead roles in physical demonstrations or team strategy
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Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance
Intellectual
- Debating
- Public Speaking Competition
- Public Speaking Club
- ICAS Assessments
Creative
- Debating
- Public Speaking
- Banksia Beatz (K-2) & Banksia Bouncers (3-6) Dance Groups
- Art Sparks K-6
- Gardening Club
- Lego Club
Social-Emotional
- Debating
- Public Speaking
- Student leadership as a whole student body (SRC)
- Gardening Club
- Student Leadership Team
- Student Representative Council (SRC)
Physical
- PSSA Winter and Summer Inter-school sport representation
- Billiards Room
- Lunch time structured oz-tag and soccer clubs
- Wellbeing programs
- Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
- Yoga Club
Intellectual
- The Premier’s Spelling Bee promotes our students’ vocabulary development and attention to detail in competitive settings.
- The Premier’s Debating Challenge helps our students to build logical arguments and confidence in public speaking.
- The Premier’s Reading Challenge promotes our students’ love of reading and literature
Creative
- Our students have engaged in the Operation Art initiative in collaboration with Westmead Children's Hospital, creating artworks for hospital spaces for children.
- Both of our dance groups have represented the school during regional dance festivals.
Social-Emotional
- The Premier’s Debating Challenge helps our students to build logical arguments and confidence in public speaking.
Physical
- The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.
Academic Excellence
Students with high academic potential have access to enrichment and extension programs. These opportunities challenge students to think deeply, explore new ideas, and reach their full learning potential.
- Enrichment and extension opportunities in the classroom across all KLAs
- ICAS Assessments
- Public Speaking Competition
- Spelling Bee
- Deputy Principal's Reading Challenge
PSSA Sports & Carnivals
We encourage students to be active, enjoy friendly competition, and develop teamwork through PSSA sport. Students have the opportunity to represent our school in a variety of team sports, building skills, sportsmanship, and confidence. Winter and Summer sports offered include: T-Ball, netball, touch football, league tag, basketball, soccer, cricket, newcombe ball and soft ball.
Our annual athletics, swimming and cross-country carnivals provide fun, inclusive ways for students to participate, challenge themselves, and celebrate their achievements. These events are an important part of our school community, promoting health, participation, and school pride.
Excelling in Sport
At Banksia Road Public School, we encourage all students to challenge themselves by trying out for Zone and District PSSA teams. These opportunities allow students to develop their skills, experience team competition at a higher level, and represent our school with pride. We support students through coaching, training, and encouragement, helping them build confidence, resilience, and a love of sport.
HPGE Dance
We celebrate creativity and self-expression through our Banksia Beatz (K-2) and Bouncers (3-6) dance groups. These programs give students the chance to learn new skills, perform confidently, and work as part of a team. Students participate in rehearsals, school events, and community performances, building confidence, coordination, and a love of dance.
Help for your high potential child
If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.
Student opportunities and activities
Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.
Learning
Find out about our approach to learning and supporting students to progress