High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) at HSPA
At the Hunter School of the Performing Arts (HSPA), every learner’s potential is our priority. We believe that many students possess high potential, and our role is to help that potential grow into something powerful. Our teachers are skilled at identifying and nurturing talent, supporting students to be the best they can be: creatively, intellectually, physically and socially-emotionally.
We are proud to offer a school environment that embraces diversity, fosters belonging, and delivers opportunity. Through high expectations and a culture of equity in excellence, every student, regardless of background, is given meaningful opportunities to thrive and achieve high performance.
Identifying HPGE Students
We are committed to developing high potential across the four recognised domains: creative, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional. At HSPA, all students are considered to have high potential in their performing arts discipline. In addition, our cutting-edge Mastery Learning and Digital Credentialing system in Secondary enables real-time identification of exceptional performance across all learning areas.
Students demonstrating significantly advanced achievement are flagged using multiple sources of evidence, including:
Live Canvas-based Mastery Gradebook and Learner Dashboard data (Secondary)
Advanced digital badges across curriculum and cross-curriculum outcomes (Secondary)
Staff, parent/carer, and student nominations
Transition data, standardised and ability assessments (e.g. NAPLAN, MYAT, WISC, PAT, ICAS)
Consideration of twice-exceptionality and excellence gaps across equity groups
This process ensures early, accurate, and inclusive identification of students whose potential significantly or vastly exceeds that of their peers. Confirmed students are supported through a Personalised Learning and Support Plan (PLSP) that outlines tailored learning strategies, enrichment opportunities, and wellbeing support.
How We Cater for HPGE Learners
High potential and gifted education at HSPA is not limited to withdrawal programs or specialist classes. It is delivered in-class, across the whole school, and department wide - offering interschool opportunities and industry collaboration. We design our systems and structures to ensure high potential learners are known, valued, and extended through personalised, meaningful opportunities.
Curriculum Differentiation
We challenge our students to think, create, lead, and grow every day through:
Compacting curriculum and designing off-level, inquiry-based learning tasks
Enrichment projects that span subjects and disciplines
Performance descriptors and rubrics that support stretch and depth
Advanced learning pathways through our digital badge system (Secondary)
Personalised Planning
Every identified Highly Gifted student receives a co-designed HPGE PLSP, which maps their strengths, goals, and learning opportunities. These plans are developed collaboratively with students, families, teachers, and wellbeing staff, and are reviewed annually or more frequently if needed.
Our student mentor program ensures gifted learners have a regular point of contact to support reflection, set goals, and access enrichment.
Acceleration & Extension
For students requiring greater challenge, we offer:
- Subject-specific acceleration for students strong in one area
- Whole-grade acceleration, where appropriate and carefully planned
- Flexible regrouping and talent development beyond year-based structures
- Early access to Stage 5 and 6 content and tertiary-level challenges
- Performing Arts streaming and primary and secondary productions facilitate significant differentiation in the performing arts.
All acceleration options are supported through transition planning, monitoring, and review using the Department’s Acceleration Assessment Tool.
Enrichment & Opportunity
Our school offers a diverse range of opportunities across all four domains of potential. These include:
Co-curricular and extracurricular activities that engage and extend
Cross-curricular digital badges in leadership, collaboration, communication, and more
Industry and university partnerships that provide real-world learning
Opportunities such as debating, drama ensembles, music showcases, technical production pathways, sport representation, coding competitions, and cultural leadership
Whether a student’s strength is in performance, critical thinking, athleticism or empathy, our offerings are designed to engage, challenge and develop talent.
Monitoring & Evaluation
In Years 7-10, we continually monitor student progress using our Canvas Mastery Learning Gradebook and Learner Dashboard, ensuring students and teachers can respond in real time to growth and areas for further challenge. Students are supported to reflect and level up during Reflection Week, and review cycles include family input, mentor feedback, and student voice.
In Years 3-6, students have a core teacher, allowing us to continually monitor student progress through observation, formative and summative assessment, collaboration and communication within the classroom, ensuring students and teachers can respond in real time to growth and areas for further challenge.
An annual HPGE peer review session ensures students reflect on their journey alongside like-minded peers in a supportive and inspiring setting.
At HSPA, we believe every student has the capacity to thrive, and for our high potential and gifted learners, we are committed to providing the stretch, support, and structure needed to turn potential into achievement, and talent into future opportunity.