updated on educational developments,
reaching out to relevant organisations
and enlisting school support in
nominating their child for suitable
opportunities. Teachers also play a
critical role in talent spotting, whether
in the classroom or during
extra-curricular activities, and
bringing them to the attention of the
child’s parents and school.
Arunav’s mother first suspected
her son was gifted when his teacher
mentioned his advanced levels in
mathematics and reading – he
finished the Harry Potter series by
the age of six! As there wasn’t any
gifted programme at his school, she
didn’t have much information and
no clear direction. However, she was
also concerned that he had trouble
fitting in with his peers, a common
issue among gifted children. She
approached The Jadis Blurton Family
Development Centre for formal
assessment, which concluded Arunav
was gifted across multiple dimensions.
His mother found this very helpful in
giving her a better understanding of
the challenges Arunav was facing, and
the clarity to seek available options.
School support
Many schools in Hong Kong do not
currently have a gifted programme,
in contrast with countries such as
Singapore and the US, which have
very developed gifted education
systems. Hong Kong implements a
policy of encouraging mainstream
schools to cultivate high ability
students through school-based
programmes. The idea is to ease the
pressure on gifted children and help
them adjust socially, by not separating
them from their peers. The downside
is the gifted child may become bored
with the normal school curriculum,
leading to behaviour such as apathy,
hiding their ability or disciplinary
issues in class. Teachers in mainstream
schools face the challenge of not
only identifying gifted children, but
balancing their needs against the
majority, particularly given large class
sizes and limited resources. While the
Education Bureau supports schools
in gifted curriculum development
and provides teacher training, these
are elective and depend upon the
individual schools’ and teachers’
initiative.
According to Professor Ng
Tai Kai, international schools
usually have more flexibility to
nurture gifted children, with some
offering opportunities such as
grade advancement, specialised
programmes, a wide range of
extra-curricular activities and access
to international resources. Mary
Ellen Ryan, enrichment specialist at
the Hong Kong International Upper
Primary School, describes their
enrichment programme as a
three-tiered approach comprising
grade-level work, in-class enrichment
and a pull-out programme where
students participate in more
challenging environments, such as
working with older children. While
this is more focused on mathematics,
writing and reading, students gifted
in other fields, such as music, athletics
or art, can participate in the many
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