High potential and gifted education

In our classroom

Creative

At Wellington High School, our classrooms provide an enriched learning environment where high-potential students are challenged to think divergently and pursue advanced creative practice. Through rigorous exploration students engage in deep conceptual thinking, experimentation, and authentic performance and exhibition opportunities that extend well beyond syllabus expectations.

Drama

In the classroom, students engage in rich creative processes by devising original group performances and experimenting with movement, characterisation, and dramatic conventions. These practices foster collaboration, imaginative problem-solving, and expressive confidence, while enabling students to explore complex ideas through performance.

Music

In the Music classroom, students extend their creative and technical skills through composition using Digital Audio Workstations and traditional instruments, allowing them to explore sound, structure, and musical expression in both contemporary and classical forms. They also develop improvisation and ensemble rehearsal skills, building confidence, musical responsiveness, and collaborative performance capabilities.

Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts classroom, students engage with a broad variety of media, including mixed media, installation, digital art, and conceptual practice, enabling them to explore diverse forms of creative expression. As they develop their skills and artistic intentions, students work towards producing sustained Bodies of Work in Stage 5 and the HSC, demonstrating depth, experimentation, and refinement in their artmaking practice.

Technology/STEM

In Technology and Applied Studies (TAS) classrooms, students develop strong design thinking, project development, and digital technology skills across Stages 4–6. Learning experiences emphasise innovation, problem-solving, and project realisation, supported by access to specialist equipment such as plasma cutters, laser cutters, 3D printers, and robotics. As students’ progress into senior courses, they apply these skills to create sophisticated major projects—including fire pits, jewellery pieces, solar-powered vehicles, and go-karts—demonstrating creativity, technical proficiency, and high-level documentation practices.

Wiradjuri Culture Integration across KLAs

At Wellington High School, we value and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as the world’s oldest continuous living cultures. Indigenous Dance, Art, Music and culture provide powerful opportunities for students to engage with cultural knowledge, storytelling, movement traditions, and contemporary expressions of identity. These elements are embedded into our curriculum’s across our KLAs – Dreamtime stories to explain astronomy; styles of art; our histories and stories of our elders; forms of indigenous music and instruments.

Intellectual

At Wellington High School, in our classrooms we are committed to providing intellectually stimulating learning experiences that challenge students, extend their thinking, and support the development of high-potential learners.

In every classroom, explicit teaching provides the clarity, structure, and high expectations students need to achieve academic success. Teachers model expert thinking, break down complex tasks, and use strategies such as Checking for Understanding, Chunking and Sequencing, and clear Learning Intentions and Success Criteria to guide students toward independent mastery. Learning is scaffolded through modelled, guided, and independent practice using approaches like I Do → We Do → You Do and the Writing in Secondary Schools framework. To extend analytical writing, Stage 5 and Stage 6 students engage with ALARM and PEEL structures, while explicit instruction in Tier 3 subject-specific vocabulary strengthens reading comprehension, writing precision, and overall confidence in academic settings.

Physical

At Wellington High School, within our classrooms we recognise the importance of physical development as a foundation for student wellbeing, resilience, and success. Our programs provide targeted opportunities for students who display exceptional ability in the physical domain. Our PDHPE and sport programs are designed to

engage all students in meaningful movement experiences that build health, confidence, and a lifelong commitment to physical activity. Development of fundamental movement skills in Stages 4 and 5 eg: sprinting, catching, throwing, dodging, tactical awareness leading to progressive skill development in a wide variety of sports. This is integrated with fitness testing, strength and conditioning activities, and training principles as well as learning about health literacy, nutrition, risk management, and wellbeing.

Social Emotional

At Wellington High School, we recognise that social-emotional capability is foundational to lifelong wellbeing, academic success, and strong cultural and community connections. Our approach supports the growth of students with high potential in the social-emotional domain within the classroom, across the school and in the wider region and NSW.

Restorative Practices and Wellbeing strategies are used to explicitly build empathy, emotional regulation, and respectful communication—key capabilities for high-potential learners who require advanced social-emotional challenge and support. Classroom strategies foster students’ ability to understand themselves and others, strengthening self-awareness, perspective-taking, and interpersonal problem-solving. Teachers embed relational, strengths-based practices that help high-potential learners: recognise their social-emotional strengths, navigate conflict constructively, and build high-level interpersonal skills.

Across our school

Creative

Classroom strategies such as collaborative devising, experimental problem-solving, reflective practice, and authentic performance or exhibition tasks has contributed to a schoolwide culture that values excellence, innovation, and student voice, providing students with opportunities to showcase their talent to the rest of the school community.

Drama

Wellington High School nurtures high-potential performers through a long-standing tradition of excellence in Drama, demonstrated through plays, pantomimes, Eisteddfod participation, and a sustained community partnership with the Wellington Amateur Theatrical Society. These authentic performance opportunities extend students’ creative talent, build confidence, and provide pathways for advanced skill development. From 2026 onwards, the establishment of a Drama Club will further strengthen HPGE provision by offering additional enrichment experiences and renewed opportunities for community-based performance.

Music

Wellington High School actively supports high-potential musicians through a strong tradition of vocal and instrumental performance, including assembly showcases, Eisteddfod participation, Town Band involvement, Moorambilla workshops and performances, and KINetic drum workshops. These opportunities extend students’ musical abilities, foster advanced performance skills, and connect them with regional and state-level music communities. From 2026, the development of a dedicated Music Club—focused on establishing a school band and/or choir—will further enhance HPGE pathways by providing structured enrichment, ensemble training, and expanded platforms for musical excellence.

Visual Arts

Wellington High School extends the talents of high-potential Visual Arts students by providing regular opportunities to showcase their work at the Wellington Annual Show, Junk into Art, and Wellington Community Arts exhibitions. These authentic public platforms allow students to engage with real audiences, gain recognition for their creativity, and develop the confidence and artistic identity essential for high-level Visual Arts pathways.

Technology/STEM

Wellington High School fosters high-potential learners in Technology and STEM by providing authentic enterprise opportunities, with student-designed projects sold at local markets and student-made jewellery available for purchase through the school’s Front Office. These real-world experiences extend students’ creativity, entrepreneurial skills, and design capabilities, showcasing their talent within the wider community and supporting advanced pathways in creative industries.

Wiradjuri Culture Integration across our school

Wellington High School provides rich opportunities grounded in our local Wiradjuri culture. High-potential dancers engage in Bangarra Dance workshops, audition pathways, and performances through the WHS Aboriginal Dance Group, allowing them to showcase advanced skills while honouring cultural identity. Visual Arts students extend their practice through NAIDOC Day workshops and collaborations with Indigenous artists on significant community artworks, such as the Wellington Aquatic Centre project. In Music and cultural studies, students deepen their knowledge through NAIDOC workshops, language learning, weaving, implement-making, the Ochre Up photographic experience, and programs such as River to Retention, Durrimal, and Boys to the Bush. These culturally responsive enrichment experiences support high-potential Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students alike, fostering artistic excellence, cultural pride, and deep community connection.

Intellectual

The intellectual strategies implemented across our classrooms—such as explicit vocabulary instruction, structured writing scaffolds, and high-impact teaching routines—have strengthened learning for all students and significantly enhanced outcomes for high-potential learners. These approaches have contributed to measurable improvement in Check-in vocabulary results in 2024 and 2025, as well as gains in literacy and numeracy NAPLAN results in 2025, demonstrating the effectiveness of our HPGE-informed teaching practices in extending students’ academic potential.

Physical

At Wellington High School, students with advanced physical abilities are supported through a comprehensive, schoolwide approach that includes targeted coaching, structured extension pathways, and inclusive opportunities for skill development. Specialist coaching in all CHS sports is available to every student, ensuring equitable access to high-level training and progression opportunities. PDHPE programs integrate culturally responsive Wiradjuri physical knowledge—such as Buroinjin, Kai, Kalq, Wana, Tig Games, and spear-throwing adaptations—to build agility, teamwork, spatial awareness, and cultural understanding. These combined practices strengthen engagement, extend high-potential learners, and foster a cohesive school culture that values physical excellence, cultural respect, and personal growth.

Social Emotional

The school provides intentional leadership opportunities that cultivate confidence, agency, collaboration, and responsibility, all of which are core elements of HPGE social-emotional growth. Leadership experiences (e.g., Captains, SRC, House Captains, sports leadership) enable high-potential students to practise advanced social reasoning, teamwork, and decision-making.

Restorative Practice circles at Wellington High School provide a powerful form of social-emotional enrichment for high-potential learners by creating a safe, structured space where students can share their lived experiences, develop deep emotional insight, and engage in reflective dialogue. Through these practices, students build empathy, practise mentoring skills, and support positive behavioural change in others, strengthening their capacity for leadership, connection, and constructive communication.

Through the culturally grounded leadership programs offered by Clontarf, NASCA, and our AEO team, high-potential Aboriginal students at Wellington High School are supported to strengthen their cultural identity, confidence, pride, and community leadership skills. These enriching opportunities allow students to mentor their peers, represent their community, and take on meaningful leadership roles within culturally significant contexts, fostering the development of high-potential learners in the social-emotional domain.

At Wellington High School, our Agricultural Show team exemplifies the spirit of high-potential learning by offering students hands-on, real-world opportunities to develop responsibility, technical skill, and community engagement. Our students gain practical experience in animal husbandry, agricultural science, and teamwork.

Our agriculture program also extends to Stage 5 students studying Certificate I Agriculture demonstrating our commitment to nurturing emerging talent from the junior years upward. Through these experiences, high-potential learners develop technical competence, resilience, a sense of responsibility, and connection to their rural and regional community. The Agricultural Show team fosters leadership, work ethic, and practical problem-solving — essential attributes for students seeking pathways in agriculture, agribusiness, or STEM-related industries.

By integrating agriculture, community engagement, and academic rigor, Wellington High School ensures that the agricultural classroom is not only a space for vocational training but also a rich HPGE environment where students’ potential is recognised, challenged, and expanded.

Across NSW

Creative

The success of our HPGE Creative Arts program has extended far beyond the classroom, positioning Wellington High School as a contributor to creative excellence at regional and state levels. Student participation in Eisteddfods, Moorambilla, School Spectacular, ArtEXPRESS, SHAPE, and Bangarra workshops showcases our capacity to nurture high-potential creatives who excel on prestigious platforms. We are successfully providing students with pathways into regional and state performance, exhibition, and cultural programs.

Music

Wellington High School contributes to high-potential development across NSW through student participation in prestigious state-level programs such as the Moorambilla Regional Choir and the School Spectacular Mass Choir. These opportunities place our high-potential musicians within elite creative ensembles, allowing them to refine advanced performance skills, collaborate with leading industry professionals, and represent the region on major NSW artistic platforms.

Visual Art

Wellington High School’s high-potential Visual Arts students are making significant contributions across NSW, with one student establishing her own design business grounded in her Indigenous heritage and others achieving state-level recognition through selection for ARTEXPRESS. These accomplishments demonstrate the strength of the school’s HPGE pathways, showcasing how students’ creativity, cultural identity, and artistic excellence are being celebrated on prominent statewide platforms.

Technology/STEM

Wellington High School’s commitment to extending high-potential learners is reflected in the selection of students’ HSC Design and Technology and Industrial Timber projects for Shape, one of NSW’s premier showcases of outstanding HSC major works. This achievement demonstrates the school’s capacity to nurture innovation, technical excellence, and advanced design thinking, positioning our students among the top creative and technological talents in the state.

Wiradjuri Culture Integration

Wellington High School’s integration of Wiradjuri cultural knowledge within the development of an Aboriginal Dance group has enabled high-potential performers to engage in prestigious statewide opportunities such as the Western Regions Arts Dance workshops and the School Spectacular Dance Ensemble. Through these programs, students refine advanced dance skills while representing their culture and community on major NSW performance platforms, demonstrating the strength of the school’s HPGE pathways in culturally grounded creative excellence.

Intellectual

The learning practices developed at Wellington High School reflect and contribute to high-quality teaching expected across NSW. Our implementation of explicit teaching, disciplined inquiry, vocabulary development, and analytical writing scaffolds aligns directly with the HPGE Policy, What Works Best, and statewide literacy priorities. Participation in regional, state, and national enrichment programs—including Tournament of the Minds, Da Vinci Decathlon, ICAS, Australian Mathematics Competition, Science Olympiads, and Wiradjuri cultural inquiry initiatives—positions our students and staff within broader NSW networks of excellence. In doing so, Wellington High School demonstrates how rural schools can lead in delivering innovative, culturally responsive, and academically rigorous learning aligned with statewide expectations.

Physical

Wellington High School’s commitment to identifying and extending high-potential athletes positions the school as a strong contributor to sporting excellence across NSW. Our structured CHS coaching pathways enable students to progress from school-based programs to Western Region and Orana selections, NSWCHS representation, and ultimately regional, state, and national competitions. Recent achievements—including state-level success in cricket, softball, swimming, athletics, girls' rugby, and national representation in disability sports—demonstrate the effectiveness of these pathways. By embedding culturally responsive Wiradjuri physical activities and partnering with organisations such as NASCA and Clontarf, the school contributes to NSW’s broader goals of inclusive, culturally grounded, and high-performing school sport.

Wellington High School’s participation in the international REAL Madrid Foundation School Program provides students with a unique opportunity to develop character, confidence, and healthy lifestyle habits through the global language of football. The program combines weekly high-quality training sessions with wellbeing workshops that embed the Foundation’s core values, promoting resilience, teamwork, respect, and social integration. Students extend their skills and broaden their cultural understanding through cross-school matches and international experiences, enabling them to engage with peers from diverse backgrounds while representing both their school and community on an international stage.

Social and Emotional

Wellington High School’s commitment to developing high-potential learners in the social-emotional domain is reflected in our students’ growing contribution to leadership at a state level across NSW. Through strong restorative and relational practices, students build the confidence, communication skills, and interpersonal insight required to lead beyond the school environment. This foundation has enabled our Captains to represent Wellington High School at Government House, our Clontarf students to serve as emcees at state conferences, and our Year 12 leaders to participate in statewide leadership programs. These opportunities allow high-potential learners to demonstrate advanced social-emotional capability, cultural pride, and community leadership on significant NSW platforms, showcasing the school’s effectiveness in preparing students to engage meaningfully and confidently at regional and state levels.

Wellington High School’s Agricultural Show Team provides high-potential learners with statewide platforms to demonstrate advanced agricultural knowledge, technical skill, and leadership. Our students represent the school with distinction at local and regional shows—including the Wellington Show, Yeoval Show, and Dubbo Show—where they exhibit livestock, steward events, and engage with industry professionals. Their success extends beyond the region, with participation in the prestigious Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza and the NSW School Merino Wether Challenge, as well as exhibiting steers at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Through these authentic agricultural competitions, students develop sophisticated capabilities in animal husbandry, scientific reasoning, teamwork, and problem-solving. These experiences strengthen their confidence, communication skills, and industry awareness, positioning them among high-potential agricultural students across NSW. The program ensures Wellington High School’s learners not only excel locally but contribute meaningfully to the state’s broader agricultural education landscape, showcasing the school’s effectiveness in fostering emerging leaders in rural industries.