The College recognizes that just as there are different levels and types of disabilities, so too are there different levels and types of giftedness. Each level of giftedness requires a different level of support. Hillcrest offers a range of programs and provisions to cater for the various abilities of its gifted students from in-class extension and lunchtime clubs, to acceleration and full-time gifted classes. Hillcrest is a member of QAGTC, The Queensland Association for Gifted and Talented Children, and hosts a variety of monthly QAGTC workshops.

Mildly Gifted Students

Mildly gifted children are those who are one standard deviation above the normal population (IQ = 115- 129). The prevalence of mildly gifted children in the general population is approximately as follows:

IQ 115= 1:6 IQ 120 = 1:10 IQ 125 = 1:20.

Mildly gifted children usually cope best in a regular classroom with some enrichment and extension given by the classroom teacher. The College caters for mildly gifted children by offering in-class and across-grade ability grouping. Mildly gifted children are also encouraged to participate in optional lunchtime and after school clubs, QAGTC monthly workshops, and annual provisions such as competitions and challenges.

Moderately Gifted Students

Moderately gifted children are two standard deviations above the normal population (IQ 130-144). The prevalence of moderately gifted children in the general population is approximately as follows:

IQ 130 =1:40 IQ 135 =1:100 IQ 140 =1:250

Moderately gifted children often require options extra to their regular classroom work. As well as offering all the provisions available to mildly gifted students, Hillcrest operates an ECHO Inc (Extending Children’s Horizons and Options in the Classroom) program for moderately gifted students, where they receive differentiated work for academic subjects. These programs take on different students at different times throughout the year, according to the child and the program on offer. For example, a mathematically able student may participate in the Maths extension program, but may not necessarily be suited for the Language extension program.

Moderately gifted students are also candidates for acceleration or full-time gifted classes; however their overall academic achievement and personal identifiers (such as motivation and self-esteem) must be secure for them to be able to cope with the rigors and structure of such environments.

Highly and Exceptionally Gifted Students

Highly gifted children are three standard deviations above the normal population (IQ 145-159). The prevalence of highly gifted children in the general population is approximately as follows:

IQ145 =1:1 000 IQ 150=1:2 000 IQ 155 = 1:5 000

Exceptionally gifted children are four standard deviations above the normal population (IQ 160-179). Approximately one child in every 10 000 is extremely gifted.

The regular school curriculum is not always appropriate for highly or exceptionally gifted students. They usually require either acceleration or instruction in full-time gifted classes in order to cater appropriately for their needs. The College alters its curriculum for highly and exceptionally gifted students so that it is accelerated and fast paced, abstract and integrated, and contains depth and richness. Higher order thinking skills are promoted.

Profoundly gifted children are more than four deviations from the norm (IQ180+).

Less than one child in a million is profoundly gifted. They may require radical acceleration or special facilities or individualized instruction with mentors. These may not always be available in school settings.