Inspire – High potential and gifted education

Some students learn more quickly or show particular strengths in areas such as creativity, leadership or sport. At our school, we recognise and nurture these strengths early through targeted opportunities and high-quality learning experiences.

Targeted Sports Program (TSP)
Our Targeted Sports Program continues to grow in success and will expand in 2026. It provides students with opportunities to develop their athletic abilities, build teamwork, and pursue excellence in sport as a key part of our school culture.

SHINE (Creative and Performing Arts)
SHINE supports students with strengths in the creative and performing arts. This program offers opportunities to explore and extend talents in areas such as music, drama and visual arts, and will also expand in 2026.

Big Picture Advisories
This innovative program offers a personalised learning pathway based on students’ passions. Through individual Learning Plans and internship opportunities with mentors, students engage in meaningful, real-world projects that connect learning beyond the classroom.

APEX Program
Our APEX (Achieving Personal Excellence) program supports Year 12 students through the HSC with personalised guidance, strong case management, and ongoing monitoring to help each student reach their potential.

We are also strengthening our focus on literacy and numeracy through targeted small group tuition and explicit teaching across all Key Learning Areas.

Together, these initiatives reflect our commitment to innovation, engagement and personalised learning, making 2026 an exciting year ahead.

What is HPGE?

HPGE stands for Inspire – High potential and gifted education. It focuses on identifying and supporting students who demonstrate high potential across various areas. Potential exists along a continuum, and students may require different levels of support depending on how their abilities compare to their peers.

High Potential: Students whose abilities exceed those of their age peers in one or more domains. They benefit from targeted enrichment and extension programs.
Gifted: Students whose abilities significantly exceed their peers. These students often require curriculum adjustments and in-depth enrichment.
Highly Gifted: Students whose abilities vastly exceed their peers, typically in the top 1%. They require individualised learning plans and targeted acceleration.

Who are HPGE students?

HPGE students are those who demonstrate high potential in one or more of the following domains:

Intellectual: Students who exhibit advanced cognitive abilities, including exceptional problem-solving, reasoning, and academic skills, particularly in areas like math, language, and science.
Creative: Students with exceptional creativity and originality, often displaying innovative thinking in artistic expression, design, or conceptual problem-solving.
Social-Emotional: Students who display strong leadership, emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability to influence and guide others, contributing positively to social contexts and group dynamics.
Physical: Students who show advanced skills in physical activities or sports, with exceptional coordination, strategy, and athletic performance beyond typical age expectations.

At Lake Munmorah High School, we identify and support students in these domains, offering tailored learning experiences to help them reach their full potential.

How do we identify HPGE students?

The identification of High Potential and Gifted (HPG) students is based on a range of evidence-based indicators that ensure equitable recognition of student potential across various domains. This process ensures that students with high potential are identified and provided with appropriate learning opportunities to support their growth.

Indicators for Identifying HPG Students:

Teacher Observations: Noticing students’ performance, behaviours, and potential for excellence.
Academic Data: Achievement data and results from standardized testing to identify high-level academic capabilities.
Student Work: Samples or portfolios demonstrating advanced skills, creativity, or critical thinking.
Enrichment Participation: Involvement in competitions, performances, or other enrichment activities that highlight advanced abilities.
Specialist Recommendations: Feedback from mentors, specialists, or external providers about the student’s potential.
Social-Emotional and Leadership Capabilities: Evidence of leadership qualities, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills.

Processes for Identification

How do we select students for the Ignite Year 7 Class?

Support for all needs

HPG students who also require extra learning support continue to receive targeted assistance through our Learning and Support Team (LST), including Personalised Learning and Support Pathways Domains (PLaSPs), in-class support, and additional resources to help them succeed.

Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?

Physical Domain

Find out what experiences are availabile within the physical domain.

Intellectual Domain

Find out what we have to offer your child within the intelectual domain.

Creative Domain

Find out what creative experiences we can offer your HPGE child.

Find out what social and emotional experiences we have to offer your HPGE child.

What is high potential and gifted education?

Inspire – 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

Our classroom practices support and extend high potential and gifted students:

Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.
Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects. Structured peer collaboration and reflection.
Supportive learning environments that enable exploration and self assessment.

Across our school

Our school offers a range of whole-school programs that support student growth:

TSP Netball
TSP Rugby League
TSP Academy
SHINE Art
SHINE Music
Personalised learning profiles
Student leadership
Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
Our classroom practices support and extend high potential and gifted students.

Across NSW

The Schools Spectacular 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 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 mentoring programs connect our students with trusted adults including school alumni to build confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills.