High potential and gifted education

Unlocking potential, developing talent, and inspiring excellence.

At Prairievale Public School, we believe every student has the capacity to grow, contribute and achieve beyond expectation. Under the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential & Gifted Education framework, we provide deliberately designed opportunities that span the four recognised domains of potential: physical, social-emotional, creative and cognitive.

Physical Domain

Students are encouraged and supported to explore and extend their natural physical abilities through fully funded opportunities including:

Athletics coaching programs
Gymnastics sessions
Inter-school sport opportunities

These initiatives allow students to challenge themselves, build physical skills, resilience, and teamwork—while celebrating achievement in sport and movement.

Social-Emotional Domain

We recognise that leadership, self-management, collaboration and emotional awareness are vital. Our social-emotional talent development is supported through:

Student-led leadership opportunities (SRC, peer mentors, eco-leaders)
Social-emotional groups facilitated by students, fostering peer connection, wellbeing and relational skills
Real-world leadership roles within our community partnerships

This domain ensures students not only perform well academically, but thrive socially and emotionally, building confidence and agency.

Creative Domain

Imagination, originality and expressive talent matter. At Prairievale we offer:

Fully funded dance programs, giving students opportunity to participate in performances beyond the school
A comprehensive Arts program (visual arts, drama)
A vibrant Music program, enabling students to develop their creative voice

These creative pathways allow students to shine beyond the academic classroom, and to translate their ideas and talents into visible, celebrated outcomes.

Cognitive Domain

For students with advanced intellectual potential, we offer enrichment that fosters high-level thinking, inquiry and technological fluency:

STEM Club – engaging students in design, investigation and problem-solving
Technology Club – focused on coding, robotics and digital creation
Participation in the Digital Olympics – a competitive, collaborative event challenging student thinking in digital environments

These opportunities extend thinking, challenge students to innovate, and help them connect learning to the rapidly changing world.

Why HPGE at Prairievale?

Equitable access — Every student, regardless of background or circumstance, is encouraged to engage with the programs.
Tailored challenge and support — We offer differentiated opportunities so that students with high potential are extended, inspired and supported to realise their ability.
Whole-child development — By spanning physical, social-emotional, creative and cognitive domains, we nurture each learner’s full potential, not just academic outcomes.
Community, partnership and celebration — We collaborate with staff, families and the wider community to provide meaningful programs, real-world opportunities and public celebration of student talent.

We invite you to explore the programs, meet our student leaders, and discover how your child might engage with HPGE at Prairievale. Together we will ignite curiosity, foster excellence and celebrate growth.

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.

In our classroom

Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.
Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
Flexible grouping for collaborative ideation and presentation.
Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self-assessment.
Opportunities for leadership within the classroom.
Safe learning environments that encourage confidence, risk-taking, and perseverance.

Across our school

School performances with dance and drama
Visual arts competition
Sport gala days
Student leadership (SRC)
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.

Across NSW

Our STEM Enrichment Partnerships with industry and high schools deepen our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration such as Digital Olympics.
The Pulse Alive is a performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools.
Participation in The Western Liverpool Festival of Performing Arts and The primary school Creative Arts Showcase fosters creativity through dance in our local networks.