High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Overview
Kirrawee High School aims to provide a challenging curriculum that maximises the engagement and learning outcomes of all students. KHS is committed to the identification, assessment, and support of high potential and gifted students across the school in all classes.
Student engagement and progress at KHS will be fostered across intellectual, social-emotional, creative, and physical domains of talent. Domain focus is provided in the classroom, through assessment, and beyond the curriculum through enrichment and extension activities and programs.
For more information about our school's HPGE Policy, please see the Rules and Policies Page.
Selective Stream (Enrichment Classes)
Enrichment refers to the broadening and deepening of learning to allow for students to be challenged in their learning, while still progressing through the curriculum at the same rate as their peers. This environment seeks to advance individual learning and talent development in areas of personal excellence. The KHS Enrichment classes focus on differentiated practice as a key tool in the development of students’ academic and social and emotional outcomes.
Students who have participated in the enrichment program have achieved 'first in the state' and 'distinguished achievers' status in the HSC, and have gone on to become notable in their fields of pursuit including representing Australia in sport, alumni of internationally prestigious institutions (including MIT, Harvard and Cambridge Universities), and influential in the Arts.
How are classes formed in Year 7?
Placement in the Enrichment Class for Year 7 involves an assessment of students’ Literacy, Numeracy and General Ability levels prior to commencing their first year of high school. Testing is administered using the CoGAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) at the end of Term 1 of the year prior to the commencement of Year 7, at Kirrawee High School, with the Head Teacher Student Engagement. The test is administered on paper and is available to all students interested in attending Kirrawee High School with a history of high academic achievement.
Placement in the class is based upon information collected from primary schools and an analysis of students’ Year 5 NAPLAN data and results of Cognitive Ability Testing (CoGAT). Students who are placed in the top 30 after an analysis of this data will be placed in the Enrichment Class. The number of Enrichment Classes formed for 2024 will depend on the quality of student candidates and the strength of the cohort. This process enables the placement of students in classes that are best suited to their needs and ability levels.
HPGE Mentoring
Kirrawee High School has an effective system to mentor and Monitor domain specific talent development and support.
Students at Kirrawee High School who are identified as having potential across one or more of the four domains of potential can be referred for domain specific talent development and support. These domains include those reflected in the DoE’s HPGE Policy as well as additional domains devised by the school based on identified student need. The school’s domains of focus include mentoring for:
· STEM (Intellectual)
· Creative
· Physical (Sporting)
· Social Emotional
· Humanities (Intellectual)
HPGE Monitoring involves broad oversight of students through communication regarding programs, activities and events that might suit student interest and/or need and HPGE Mentoring involves the provision of intensive support to students who are not performing to their potential and who require concentrated focus of transforming potential into performance.
Professional Learning Communities
Teachers of the Stage 4 Enrichment classes at KHS engage in ongoing collaboration within a ‘professional learning community’ (PLC). Teachers of the Enrichment classes, across all subject areas, participate in joint action research – knowledge and evidence based enquiries conducted within the Enrichment class context. This involves:
- Conducting observations of the class and engaging in joint data analysis using a range of formative, summative and anecdotal data sources collected prior to and during the year
- Collaboratively identifying a focus ‘need’ for the Enrichment class, i.e. improvement in Reading
- Identifying, actioning, and reflecting on joint interventions to be implemented across subject areas to target identified need of the class through the collection and assessment of data sourced as a result of the intervention measure
- Engaging in collaborative professional dialogue on the effectiveness of the interventions to direct purposeful and evidence-based directions for join improvement in teaching and learning.
Student Leadership
Kirrawee High School's Student Leadership Program consists of a range of opportunities to extend the critical and creative thinking skills of students who have identified as having potential in the social emotional domain. The Student Representative Council and The Year 12 Leadership Team consist of self-nominated and elected students who show significant skills in the areas of collaboration, communication, problem solving and goal setting and demonstrate a passion for student and community advocacy, social justice and empowering positive wellbeing.
Co-curricular Involvement
Kirrawee High School students are strongly encouraged to take up co-curricular opportunities. When students engage in activities outside of the mandatory curriculum, they build independence and develop potential in the gifted education domains. Kirrawee High has a broad range of activities/clubs/events that students can join to develop their capacity. More information can be found on our co-curricular page. Opportunities throughout the year are communicated via daily notices.