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In March 2004 Comberton Village College was
invited to become one of just eighteen Ambassador Schools across
the country by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented
Youth at Warwick University. |
| CVC was identified by the then DfES as catering
exceptionally well for Gifted and Talented pupils within a highly
successful and workable model. Since then, and despite rebranding
of both the DfES and the national G&T programme, the school
has continued to play a leading role in sharing ideas and innovative
practice with other schools in this area, both locally and nationally.
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| The school received further recognition for
its work in this area in late 2005 with a feature in The Guardian.
You can view the article online here: "Cambridge
School Sets Pupils Thinking" |
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| The Young
Gifted and Talented Programme (YG&T) |
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| Responsibility for the national
programme for Gifted and Talented education has been taken on
by the CfBT Education Trust which launched the next phase of
this programme on 1 September 2007. All former NAGTY student
members have automatic access to membership services and opportunities
through the YG&T (Young Gifted
and Talented) website. where contact and registration information
can be found. There is also a dedicated area which aims to provide
information and resources to help support parents and carers
of gifted and talented children. |
| The YG&T programme is intended
to continue the work previously undertaken by the National Academy
for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) in striving to develop,
implement, promote and support educational opportunities for
very able youngsters. |
| It achieves this by allowing members
access to online resources, materials and articles, and by providing
opportunities for members to interact with each other and develop
supportive networks. It also includes details of the latest
events taking place regionally
and nationally.
Once registered, students may also have the opportunity to participate
in any of these events and activities, including Summer Schools
and an Outreach programme. |
| The school will continue to make
applications for membership on behalf of its students using
the selection criteria adopted by the National Academy. These
are based largely on the results of standardised test data,
including Cognitive Ability Test scores (CATs), Key Stage SATs
results and GCSE results. Talented students are identified principally
according to achievement of the Comberton Blue in sport or music.
CVC reviews students' eligibility for membership on an annual
basis. |
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| Leading
Edge Work in Gifted and Talented Education |
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Curricular: |
| At CVC we operate a highly inclusive policy
and aim to meet the needs of Gifted and Talented students through
appropriate differentiation of curricular schemes of work. However,
we also recognise the need to operate with flexibility and have
successfully employed acceleration and enrichment programmes
to advance and personalise the learning of exceptional students
in a number of curriculum areas. Level 3 courses - including
the Free Standing Maths Qualification, AS Economics and AS Critical
Thinking - have been introduced to help achieve this aim. |
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Extra-curricular: |
| The 2007 Ofsted inspection highlighted the
'outstanding' and 'exceptional' enrichment of the curriculum
which takes place at CVC in respect of the wide and varied programme
of opportunities provided in relation to curriculum subjects,
and as after-school and lunchtime activities, as well as special
extension days, summer activities, YG&T involvement, residential
excursions and use of visiting specialists. |
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Primary School and Sixth Form College Links: |
| We are particularly proud of the close relationships
formed with our Primary feeder schools to enable effective and
appropriate provision for Gifted and Talented students at the
earliest possible stage. This includes well-established arrangements
for transfer of information across the phases and a year-round
programme of visits undertaken by our Advanced Skills Teachers.
As a complement to this work we run a Maths club for gifted
Year 6 Mathematicians and a Sports Skills club for talented
young athletes. Our links with regional Sixth Form Colleges
also continue to grow as we seek to expand our provision for
Gifted and Talented students. |
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Pastoral: |
| The school recognises a particular pastoral
responsibility to its Gifted and Talented students. We aim consistently
to promote and foster an ethos which recognises and encourages
achievement and which celebrates success. As a specialist Sports
College one way that this has been achieved is through the award
of the 'Blue' to outstanding young sportsmen and women; this
award has now been extended to recognise exceptional achievement
in Music. In addition, many of our talented young athletes have
been assigned mentors to help them balance their time and commitments
as part of the Junior Athletes in Education programme which
was launched in 2005 and which has since been extended to include
talented students involved in the Performing Arts. |
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| Further Links for Parents and Professionals |
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The Young Gifted and Talented Programme (YG&T)
- website. |
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National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) - Over 35
years of experience of working with parents, children and teachers
in this field. CVC is a member - website.
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Parents' Centre Forum - A website developed by the DCSF
as a resource to support parents - website. |
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Villiers Park Educational Trust, Cambridge - Based in Foxton.
Close links with the original National Academy; hosts specialist
sessions and offers wide range of short courses for Gifted and
Talented 14-19 year olds - website. |
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Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge - A popular destination
for many of our leavers at the end of Year 11. Also a recipient
of Ambassador School status in 2004 for work in Gifted and Talented
education - website. |
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Oxford Brookes University - Provides a resource site for
education professionals and all those involved or interested
in the education of able, gifted and talented learners - website.
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London Gifted and Talented - develops high quality programmes
which challenge learners and support teachers, especially through
the use of cutting edge e-resources and online tools - website.
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G&T e-learning Modules - the latest National Strategy
tools to help schools develop aspects of their G&T provision
- website.
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Teaching Expertise - An information and learning website
for teachers containing a library of free G&T articles and
resources - website.
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This page was last updated on: Wednesday 9 July, 2008 |
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