Inspire – High potential and gifted education
Some students learn faster and more easily than others. These students may shine in creativity, thinking, leadership or sport.
At Bourke Street, we recognise and nurture these strengths early. We don't remove these students from thier classrooms. Instead, we support advanced learners with great lessons and activities to help them grow and thrive as part of our daily literacy and numeracy lessons.
What is high potential and gifted education?
Inspire – High potential and gifted education (HPGE) programs are how our school supports students with advanced learning needs. We focus on four domains of HPGE: academic, sporting, social, and creative.
Bourke Street Public School offers:
- effective teaching strategies like enrichment, extension and differentiation
- 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.
At Bourke Street Public School, we are committed to providing a rich and varied HPGE experience that empowers gifted learners to thrive across all areas of their development, both within our school community and beyond.
Bourke Street students are exposed daily to the strong academic foundations that drive learning and academic achievement. A rich and varied syllabus ensures students receive a balanced and well rounded education. This includes:
- Daily structured literacy (phonics) or spelling lessons
- Foundational reading skills to improve fluency and comprehension
- Daily, differentiated writing tasks so learners acheive at thier best level
- Structured mathematics lessons 4 days per week
- Weekly maths games to explore mathematical concepts and ideas
- Weekly lessons in Science, History/Geograhpy and Personal Development & Health
- Weekly Physical Education lessons with specialist PE teachers
- Weekly library lessons with a dedicated and highly skilled teacher librarian
- A term of Kitchen/Garden lessons each year to explore the role of science through growing food and cooking it.
- Excursions and incursions to enrich and enact real world learning.
Bourke Street offers a range of extra-curriculua activites for students who need or want challenge or extension learning. This includes:
- Daily extension learning opportunities embedded in reading, writing and mathematics lessons
- Maths Olympiad
- Write On writing competition
- Debating
- Premeir's Reading Challenge
- Premier's Spelling Bee
Our school offers a unique range of sporting options for our students.
For example, we offer all Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) students the opportunity to participate in Primary School Sports Association (PSSA) events each year. No try outs, just learning new skills and makng more friends!
We also offer:
- Annual swimming carnivals and athletics carnivals where all students participate in various events
- Weekly PE lessons with dedicated PE specialist teachers
- Annual K-2 Fun Run
- Cross Country events
- Structured playground atctivites to ensure limited sproting space is shared fairly amongst grades and genders
- Specialised sports equipment in the playground
- Weekly lunch time visits to Moore Park West
Bourke Street embraces creative and performing arts. We offer:
- A bi-annual Showcase event where students perform dance numbers at Enmore Theatre
- A bi-annual Art Show where students produce and showcase a body of work
- Senior Dance Ensemble who perform at interschool events
- 2 choirs who have both performed at Sydney Opera House
- Junior and Senior bands
- Recorder ensemble who perform at Sydney Opera House annually
- Onsite music tutoring during and after school hours (private providor)
- Weekly lessons in a termly foucs accross music, dance, drama, and visual arts
Our school understands that we are not jsut ABCs and 1,2,3s. Boukre Street provides the foundation for social development of students. We encourage our students through:
- A Student Representative Council (SRC) with elections held twice per year. SRC students proactively engage with our teachers and community to show our Bourkey's Best. In 2026 they raised over $11, 000 for Jump Rope for Heart!
- A student led Green Team who assist in sustainability practices such as composting, recycling and reducing rubbish in our school.
- Buddy programs where older students are buddied with younger students to assist navigate the transition to big school
- You Can Sit With Me; a program where students wear a bight yellow wrist band. If any student feels lonely or needs someone to play with, they can ask someone wearing the band and they'll be let in to play - no questions asked!
- Annual Stage 3 camp for students to cement friendships to last a lifetime
Our families and teachers understand that we are developing the whole child. We provide structured and unstructured social learning opportunities for students daily. We pride ourselves on being partners with families in raising outstanding human beings.
We offer a range of privately provided opportunities onsite after school. We recognise the key roles these opportunities play in providing further development for students without needing to leave our school grounds.
In 2026 our school offers:
- Art Club
- French Club
- Chess Club
- Drama Club
- Coding Club
- Karate lessons
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.