High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE)
At our school, we’re dedicated to supporting all students with high potential and gifted abilities, following the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Policy. We recognise that students can show their talents in different ways, whether that’s intellectual, creative, social-emotional, or physical strengths.
Our approach is ongoing and flexible, making sure every student’s unique gifts are noticed and nurtured. We use regular assessments to understand each child’s strengths and provide learning experiences that challenge and inspire them.
We offer a variety of opportunities, including enrichment programs, extension activities, and extra-curricular experiences, to help students grow their talents, build confidence, and prepare for high school and beyond.
By working closely with families and creating a supportive learning environment, we aim to help every student reach their full potential and feel excited about their learning journey.
Corrimal HPGE opportunities include:
Intellectual
- Extension literacy and numeracy activities
- Science experiments and cooking lessons
- Engaging in technology and digital literacy activities
- High Potential and Gifted (HPAG) 'Extend' class for Year 5 students
- Year 4 High Potential and Gifted (HPGE) Challenge at Corrimal High School (we are currently the Comminity of School champions)
- Maths Olympiad
- Public speaking
- Chess Club
- Debating (some of our students recently represented our school at state level)
- Poetry competitions
- 'Write on' and 'Dymocks' competitions.
Physical
- Participation in physical education classes
- Swimming scheme and weekly swimming lessons in Term 4
- District trials for representative teams - soccer, basketball, oz tag, etc.
- GALA Days
- Weekly gardening lessons with our dedicated gardening teacher and lessons in animal care
Social Emotional
- Engagement in buddy systems including Year 6 and Kindergarten Buddy Program
- Leading 'Clubs' to promote social activity. Clubs is a place where 'everyone belongs' and students can let their imaginations soar with cubby house play, role play, LEGO, Barbie, Trucks and Cars, Connect 4 and a sensory path.
- Student Leadership including School Leaders, Student representative Council, and Sports Captains.
- Year 6 Fundraising.
- SRC Fundraising.
- 'Environmentalists' Club which involve caring for our gardens, worm farms and compost
Creative
- Involvement in arts enrichment at the Wollongong Art Gallery and other art competitions
- Writing, Art and Poetry competitions which are created in partnership with our local RSL sub-branch
- Opportunities in dance, choir, drama and school performances, including 'Southern Stars' and the 'Choral Festival'
- Soloist opportunities for singing/performing in the Corrimal Community Carols and at Corrimal High School
- Didge Group for our Aboriginal Students
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Leadership programs such as Leading 'Clubs' to promote social activity.
- Debating and Public Speaking Competitions such as 'The Multicultural Public Speaking' Competition
- Year 6 Fundraising
- Environmental and Gardening Clubs
- STEM and Chess club
- Choral Festival
- Didge Group and Sista Speak Aboriginal Programs
- Aboriginal Languages Program
- Academic competitions such as 'Maths Olympiad' which connects us with other mathematicians across Australasia
- Critical thinking workshops
- Visual arts showcases
- Creative writing groups such as involvement in the 'Write On' and 'Dymocks Writing Competition'
- Peer mentoring
- Student leadership (SRC)
- Wellbeing programs such as 'Clubs' and 'Grow Your Mind'
- Swim Scheme and GALA days
- The Premier’s Debating Challenge helps our students to build logical arguments and confidence in public speaking.
- Our STEM Enrichment Partnerships through HPAG Extend and our Corrimal Community of Schools STEM initiatives deepen our students’ intellectual curiosity while developing innovation and collaboration.
- 'Southern Stars' is an iconic performing arts event that celebrates the talents, diversity and creativity of students from across NSW public schools.
- The Premier’s Sporting Challenge (PSC) promotes whole-school participation in physical activity with leadership pathways and professional learning.
- The Primary Schools Sports Association events enable our students to trial and compete in sports at regional, state and national levels, fostering discipline, commitment and collaboration.
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.