'Gifted and talented' describes young people who have the potential to achieve to a level significantly ahead of their year group. Some children excel in particular areas, some learn faster than others.

The progress of every one of our gifted and our talented students is very important to us at Cardinal Wiseman.  We target and educate each student to ensure that they continue to develop and are challenged within lessons and put on an array of extracurricular sessions to stimulate.  For example:

• This year we have introduced a lunchtime Latin club, students learnt the language and were amazed to see how much it influences our vocabulary today. At the end of the year members visited to Fishbourne Roman Palace in Sussex where they found out more about the culture and how Romans lived.
• Jack Petchy Speak out Award, this year a group of year ten students attended a workshop and were given expert advice on how to write speeches and deliver them.  The winner of the school competition, went on to borough final which was a fiercely fought contest and Wiseman came away with a very well deserved second place.
• For the first time ever, this year students also were given the opportunity to participate in indoor rowing in association with British youth rowing.  Weekly training session were held after school and throughout the year they attended national competitions, were members of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race crews were there to train them!  Rowing is a popular sport at many of the Russell Group Universities so by giving our students a taste of it, it could be something they may pick up later on in life.
• KS4 students are invited to attend KS5 careers talks in areas of interest to them, by encouraging them to find out more about prospective careers by meeting with professionals it can give them the drive and focus to meet their academic targets to so they can go onto meet their career goals.

In Summer 2014, 96.9% of our gifted and talented students achieved A*-C (including English and maths) at GCSE and 40% of these students achieved 8 or more A*-A grades at GCSE. Many of these students go on to attend Russell Group Universities including London School of Economics, UCL, King’s College, York and Bristol.

Gifted students

'Gifted' learners are those who have abilities in one or more academic subjects, like maths and English. Our gifted and more able students are the top 10% of students based on the KS2 SAT scores, Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs) taken early in year 7 and teacher recommendation. After initial setting, these students experience a dynamic and challenging curriculum as well as a broad enrichment programme. Teaching and learning extends beyond the National Curriculum and there is focus on skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Talented students

Our talented students are those who possess a high level or potential for high level in physical activity, sports, music, drama, technology and the expressive arts. Our trained staff encourage them to participate in school, local and national clubs and competitions. These help to enhance student knowledge, expertise and skill beyond the constraints of the classroom.