High potential and gifted education

At Dapto Public School, we recognise that high potential exists in many forms across all learners. Our approach to HPGE is embedded in everyday teaching and learning. We challenge our students to think, create, lead and grow every day.

Here are some of the ways that our teaching staff support the students within our classrooms at Dapto Public School:

• Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.
• Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
• Advanced learning pathways, including accelerated or compacted content.
• Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
• Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
• Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
• Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation.
• Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE.
• Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self-assessment.
• Strengths-based feedback and goal setting.
• Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
• Structured peer collaboration and reflection.
• Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.

At Dapto Public School, High potential and gifted education forms a vital part of our core values. We recognise and nurture the unique talents of every student by providing flexible, diverse, and enriching opportunities that support growth across academic, creative, social, and physical domains.

Here are some of the opportunities available to support the talent development of students at Dapto Public School:

• Premier's Debating Challenge
• Premier's Spelling Challenge
• STEM and coding clubs
• Academic competitions
• Critical thinking workshops
• School musicals
• Music ensembles
• Visual arts and drama showcases
• Creative writing groups
• Sport squads
• House competitions
• Performance-based movement groups
• Peer mentoring
• Student leadership (SRC)
• Wellbeing programs
• Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives

We actively participate in statewide competitions and activities, providing our students with valuable opportunities to challenge themselves and perform at their best. Through this collaborative and enriched approach, we ensure every student’s unique talents are recognised, developed, and celebrated.

Here are some of the opportunities available to support the talent development of students at Dapto Public School:

• 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.
• Our STEM Enrichment Partnerships with industry and universities deepen our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration.
• The Premier’s Sporting Challenge (PSC) promotes whole-school participation in physical activity with leadership pathways and professional learning.
• The Representative School Sport Pathway and PSSA and CHSSA events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration. Our students are able to participate in Sporting PPSA Gala Days at Zone level, State Knockouts, Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals, as well as Swimming Carnivals at various levels (Zone, Regional, State, National).
• Participation in state-wide dance ensembles develops our high potential and gifted Stage 5 dance students’ technical skills, performance presence and physical expressiveness.