Inspire – High potential and gifted education
Some students learn faster and more easily than others. At Kooringal High School, we are committed to recognising and nurturing high potential and gifted (HPG) students, ensuring every student can thrive at our school.
Our classroom practices support and extend HPG students. We identify students' learning needs in the classroom and use evidence-informed teaching practices and stimulating activities to challenge and extend students.
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?
Inspire - Inspire – 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.
At our school, we are committed to meeting the unique needs of HPG students by using differentiation strategies that empower and challenge them. By strategically differentiation through choice, product, content, process, and learning environments, we create personalised learning experiences that foster engagement, creativity, and deeper understanding. This approach ensures that each student can explore their strengths, work at an appropriately challenging level, and develop critical thinking skills in ways that align with their learning style. Differentiation is embedded in programs, lessons, and resources used, to help teachers meet the needs of diverse students.
Our supportive classroom environments promote participation and engagement, a sense of belonging and encourage risk-taking, creativity and collaboration. Teachers are encouraged to use learning logs and reflections to enable students to provide regular feedback on their learning. At our school, we recognise and nurture these strengths early. We support advanced learners with great lessons and activities to help them grow and thrive.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
Our Year 7 Extension Class nurtures intellectual curiosity and creativity, providing a stimulating learning environment where students can think critically, solve complex problems, and express ideas innovatively. Through a focus on design thinking, students develop a lifelong passion for discovery and innovation across all learning areas.
Design Thinking Project
Students in the extension class will undertake a design thinking project, applying a five-step process that can be integrated across English, HSIE, Science, and Mathematics. This cross-curricular approach encourages students to consider multiple perspectives, make connections across subjects, and approach challenges in innovative ways.
Learning Opportunities and Approaches
By using purposeful groupings and offering rich, differentiated learning experiences, the class encourages students to:
- Solve problems creatively and think in abstract ways
- Formulate hypotheses and synthesise information
- Apply advanced thinking skills in authentic contexts
- Collaborate effectively and engage in peer learning
- Participate in academic competitions, innovation challenges, and inquiry-based projects
In line with the Inspire - Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) Policy, these strategies aim to extend student potential across intellectual and creative domains, ensuring that learners are both challenged and supported. Through active engagement in the design thinking process — empathising, ideating, prototyping, and testing — students transfer creative and critical thinking skills to new and complex situations, while building confidence, collaboration, and a sustained passion for learning.
For further information about the Year 7 Extension Class, please contact Kooringal High School on (02) 6922 5155 or email us at kooringal-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Our Vision
CoS We Care is a dynamic transition initiative designed to celebrate and extend high potential and gifted learners. Our Community of Schools (CoS) is a partnership with Sturt Public School, Lake Albert Public School and Kooringal Public School where we work collaboratively to deliver a design thinking project hosted and supported by our school to create a connected and supported transition pathway to high school for students involved.
We are committed to creating rich, challenging and inspiring learning experiences that foster excellence across public education. Through purposeful talent development and authentic opportunities, we aim to position our schools as places of innovation, challenge and possibility. Throughout the project students attend a launch event where they are introduced to the process of design thinking and will work in teams to empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test a solution. Groups then attend an exhibition to celebrate their learning and pitch their ideas to the wider community.
By building strong partnerships across our Community of Schools, this project nurtures confidence, continuity, belonging and a lifelong passion for learning.
Why CoS We Care?
This initiative reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to extending high potential and gifted learners, aligning with the HPGE Policy and its focus on early identification and sustained challenge.
We recognise that talent development begins early. Through collaboration within our Community of Schools, CoS We Care bridges the important transition from primary to high school by:
- Providing enriched learning experiences across all domains of potential
- Ensuring continuity of challenge and support
- Strengthening professional collaboration between partner schools
- Creating aspirational pathways for students
Our teaching and learning program provides high academic standards across selective, extension, and mainstream classes in a co-educational, socially cohesive, inclusive, and community-focused setting.
- Differentiated teaching and learning through content, process, product, learning environment, and choice
- Tasks that adjust pace, complexity, and higher-order thinking
- Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning
- Explicit teaching of critical thinking, problem-solving strategies, and clear learning intentions
- Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth
- Cross-curricular projects that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking
- Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentations
- Opportunities to lead physical demonstrations or team strategies
- Structured peer collaboration, reflection, and strengths-based feedback
- Safe, supportive learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance
These practices ensure students develop critical thinking, creativity, leadership, and resilience. Classroom experiences foster confidence and independent learning while providing opportunities for students to explore and extend their potential.
Our school recognises that every student is individual and provides flexible opportunities for growth across intellectual, creative, physical, and social-emotional domains.
- Debating and public speaking
- STEM and robotics clubs
- Creative arts showcases and school productions
- State and national academic competitions
- Music ensembles and visual arts/drama showcases
- Creative writing competitions
- Kooringal High Performing Athletes Program
- Student podcasting and KHS News
- Local council programs and Duke of Edinburgh Award
- Competitive sport, house competitions, and peer mentoring
- Student representative council (SRC) and leadership programs
- Wellbeing programs and whole-school inclusion initiatives
These opportunities allow students to develop leadership, collaboration, creativity, and personal strengths while engaging in real-world experiences that extend learning beyond the classroom.
Kooringal High students participate in statewide programs to extend and enrich their talents.
- Premier’s Debating Challenge
- Tournament of the Minds and Da Vinci Decathlon
- STEM enrichment partnerships with universities and industry
- Game Changer Challenge using design thinking for future-focused solutions
- Schools Spectacular performing arts event
- State-wide music and dance ensembles
- Premier’s Sporting Challenge
- Representative School Sport pathways and CHSSA events
Participation in these programs develops problem-solving, performance, creativity, and leadership skills while connecting students with peers and mentors across NSW. These experiences provide pathways for students to challenge themselves and showcase their talents at regional, state, and national levels.
Selective Stream Applications
Interested in our Academic Selective Stream? Find out information on how to apply.
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.