High Potential and Gifted Education
What is High Potential and Gifted Education?
Some students learn faster and more easily than others. These students may shine in creativity, thinking, leadership or sport.
At Paterson Public School, we are proud to align our approach with the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy, which recognises the diverse strengths and needs of gifted and high potential students. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive learning environment that challenges and extends all learners, ensuring they are engaged, motivated, and able to reach their full potential. Our programs are designed to identify and nurture giftedness across multiple domains, reflecting the Department’s emphasis on catering to the whole child. By embracing a broad view of giftedness, we aim to foster excellence not only academically but also creatively, physically, and socially, preparing students for lifelong success and wellbeing.
Our approach focuses on four key domains:
1. Creative Domain: We provide opportunities for students to develop innovative thinking and artistic expression, encouraging originality and problem-solving through diverse creative activities.
2. Intellectual Domain: We challenge students with enriched learning experiences that promote higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and advanced knowledge across the curriculum.
3. Physical Domain: Recognising the importance of physical development, we support students in enhancing their coordination, health, and physical skills through targeted activities and sports.
4. 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.
At Paterson Public School, we are dedicated to implementing the NSW Department of Education’s HPGE policy by providing a comprehensive, student-centred approach that nurtures the potential of every learner across these four domains.
HPGE Highlights at Paterson Public School
🌟 Fostering Opportunities for Every Student 🌟
At Paterson Public School, we are committed to creating a learning environment where every student is supported to reach their full potential. Through our High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) approach, we embrace opportunities both within our school and in the wider community, ensuring all students are challenged, extended and inspired.
We encourage students to explore their strengths, develop new skills, and pursue their passions through rich learning experiences and meaningful partnerships.
At Paterson Public School, every child is known, valued and empowered to shine — locally, within the community, and beyond.
🌟 Celebrating Excellence in the Physical Domain 🌟
At Paterson Public School, we are proud to recognise outstanding achievement in the physical domain.
We congratulate Eddie and Cooper, who represented our school in cricket, demonstrating skill, teamwork and a strong sporting spirit.
Well done, Eddeie and Cooper — your achievements inspire our whole school community!
🌟 Celebrating Excellence in Public Speaking! 🌟
A big congratulations to Tayla, recipient of the Rotary Club of Dungog Inc Primary School Public Speaking Award.
Tayla has not only earned $100 for herself but has also secured $300 for our school. As part of her achievement, she will now take on the exciting challenge of developing creative ideas for using the prize money to make a positive impact at Paterson Public School.
We are incredibly proud of Tayla’s achievement and look forward to seeing her innovative contributions come to life!
🌟 Celebrating Excellence in the Physical Domain 🌟
At Paterson Public School, we are proud to recognise outstanding achievement in the physical domain. This year, Poppy represented PSS at the State Athletics Championships, showcasing incredible talent and determination.
Poppy embodys the values of dedication, perseverance and high performance. Well done, Poppy — your achievements inspire our whole school community!
🌟 HPGE & SRC Student Voice Team 🌟
Our Student Representative Council (SRC) is a key part of our HPGE and student voice commitment at Paterson Public School. The team includes our school leaders, Aboriginal student representatives, and one student from each class.
Together, they meet every Thursday to share ideas, lead positive change, and ensure all students have a strong voice in shaping our school community.
We’re proud of their leadership, insight and the important role they play in making Paterson PS the best it can be!
Our High Potential and Gifted Education Opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE education in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW.
- 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.
- Differentiated movement tasks and skill refinement in PDHPE.
- Targeted learning goals for coordination, agility, and control.
- Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self-assessment.
- Strengths-based feedback and goal setting.
- Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
- Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.
- Debating
- Aurora College
- Academic competitions
- Music ensembles
- House competitions
- Peer mentoring
- Student leadership (SRC)
- Wellbeing programs
- Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
- 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.
- Participating in Starstruck, a performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools.
Our Connection with Aurora College
The Aurora College Opportunity Class is an online college that is accessible to students who may not otherwise be able to access a current OC provision.
Students will connect with teachers and classmates from around NSW through a virtual learning environment. Delivery of face-to-face synchronous lessons using Adobe Connect and a range of communication and collaboration platforms are used to support learning. Unlike other schools, our OC students remain at their current primary schools and engage in learning in collaboration with their home schools.
In Year 5 and 6 (Stage 3), students will study these subjects as part of the OC program.
- Mathematics
- Science and Technology
- STEM
What are Opportunity Classes?
Opportunity classes located in government primary schools cater for academically gifted Year 5 and Year 6 students with high potential. These classes help students to learn by grouping them with students of similar ability, using specialised teaching methods and educational materials at the appropriate level.
The High Performing Students Team administers the opportunity class placement process.
Parents normally apply when students are in Year 4. Students who are placed then attend the opportunity class full time in Years 5 and 6 at the primary school with an opportunity class. It is a two-year placement program.
In the majority of cases, students who accept a place in an opportunity class will leave their current school to attend the school with an opportunity class. However, placement in the Aurora College Opportunity Class allows students to access a challenging academic program without the need to leave their local school.
There is no provision to apply for Year 6 placement only.
There are 89 primary schools with opportunity classes across NSW, including Aurora’s virtual opportunity class.
There are more than 600 Aurora host schools.
For more information, visit the Department’s Opportunity Class Placement website.