More Able Provision

There is no universal agreement on exactly what it means to be ‘gifted’ or ‘gifted and talented’. In reality, this terminology means different things to different people: academics, psychologists, teachers, parents and children themselves all have their own perception of what it means to be ‘gifted and talented’.

In England, the original definition of ‘gifted and talented’ provided by the Department for Education was:

“Children and young people with one or more abilities developed significantly ahead of their year group or with the potential to develop these abilities”

The term More Able is used at Torpoint Community College to describe these students who have developed one or more abilities significantly beyond their peers – or have the potential to do so in the future.

Gifted students are those that have abilities in an academic area such as English, history or mathematics. Talented refers to a student who has skills in a creative or practical area such as music, sport or art.

In most cases these students will be able to display these skills and will be working at a level above their peers. However, we recognise that not all learners develop at the same rate. It is also important to consider those learners which face barriers to their learning such as dyslexia. At TCC we aim to support all learners to fulfil their potential.

Teaching and learning at TCC aims to stretch and challenge all learners. Where a learner has been identified as More Able they are listed on the Record of Need. This is shared across all learning areas so that teaching and support staff are aware of learner’s abilities. Our aim is to ensure that learning is tailored to individual needs. Work in this area includes:

  • Regular discussions with students about their learning needs and their aspirations;
  • Identifying challenging and realistic end of year targets;
  • Devising strategies to achieve these targets (e.g. DIRT, project work, accelerated learning, competitions, questioning techniques);
  • Seizing opportunities to challenge More Able learners outside their usual classroom environment;
  • Regular mentoring and interventions; especially where potential concerns about a learner’s progress arise

    Contact information

    More Able Coordinator: Mr John Golding

    An overview of our More Able policy can be found below outlining the varied provision for More Able learners at the College.

    For further information or queries please do not hesitate to contact Mr John Golding.