I actually wrote this a week ago whilst I was in Ukraine, and then discovered I’d failed to bring my password file. Sadly, the promise of worldwide access isn’t completely idiot-proof.
Geography author Paul Laird invited Alex (our CTO) me up to Huntcliff School last week to help launch the Redcar & Cleveland Gifted and Talented Challenge.
What Paul is doing is really innovative; pitting gifted kids from each of the participating schools against each other in teams to perform a series of challenges, and holding the whole thing together with a variety of web tools. Getting meaningful collaboration between schools is a huge benefit to the gifted kids, who often find themselves quite isolated and without a natural peer group in their own schools. There are benefits beyond G&T as well; cross-fertilisation of teaching ideas, for example.
Alex and I got really engrossed in Paul’s vision and came away wondering what we could do to support it, beyond hosting the quiz component which we already do. If you are doing or planning an inter-school competition I’d love to hear from you. And if there is a way we can support your efforts, we will gladly do it.
Yacapaca 
3 responses to “Gifted & Talented Challenge”
I really like what Paul and the rest of you are doing. I am co-ordinating the gifted and talented in our sicence department, and would like suggestions on what I can do in-house to support them.
Your ideas will be much appreciated.
Thanks
Caroline, are you a Yacapaca member already? If not, joining would definitely be the first step.
Caroline, Thats a big topic to cover here. It depends on whether you are looking to support in class or have some G&T group that you will work with outside the classroom or both? Over the past few years we have been taking groups of student to place like Malham (Limestone) and Iceland with the student completing virtual tours of there visits (see our geography website to view them). Independent learning via a VLE could be the way to go. These student really need challenging! Hope this helps?
Good Luck!