International Gateway for Gifted Youth  

This is a new organisation which provides courses for the brightest and most creative youngsters around the world. Members become part of a global community that gives them increasing access to a wide range of opportunities unavailable elsewhere. With opportunities designed for the top 5% of young people in terms of ability and potential, IGGY offers members access to an increasingly diverse range of projects, challenges and learning opportunities that are stimulating, engaging and provide genuine opportunities for international engagement and collaboration. As IGGY develops it will provide opportunities for individual endeavour, international teamwork and collaboration, competition, expertise and input from leading professional, academic and creative experts.

The first courses took place in the form of a two-week residential summer school at Warwick University during July and August 2008 – others will take place at venues in other countries. Saint Felix School was successful in securing a placement on one of the courses: using Mathematics to solve global issues.

Excellence Hub for the Eastern Region

This Hub is a regional provider for the government’s Young Gifted and Talented Learning Academy and provides non-residential courses based at various centres of excellence throughout the region, such as the University of East Anglia and Cambridge University. During August 2008 pupils from Saint Felix School secured placements on a one-week summer school on the theme of Science and Society at the campuses of UEA and Cambridge University.

Consortium of Schools’ Project for Year 7 and 8 Pupils

The first project on the theme of Science and Maths in the Workplace, came to fruition with a Careers Fayre involving all the pupils from the six participating schools – Beccles Middle, Bungay Middle, Gisleham Middle, Halesworth Middle, Saint Felix and Worlingham Middle Schools at Halesworth Middle School on Saturday 22nd November 2008. At the Fayre the pupils gave powerpoint presentations of their projects, involving interviews with employees of the participating companies, supplementary leaflets and they were able to talk to members of the general public. Representatives of the companies were also present.

The pupils of Saint Felix School had been allocated a visit to Adnams Brewery in Southwold in order to interview people in the brewing and human resources departments of the company. The group was given a tour of the brewery and admired the computer-controlled processes as well as the ultra-hygienic conditions of the brew house. They filmed key elements of the tour and used this as part of their presentation. Following the tour, a considerable amount of time outside normal curriculum time was devoted to producing slides for the powerpoint, flyers and posters, with the whole project being co-ordinated by two members of the team. Following the Careers Fayre, the team repeated their presentation to the entire school at an assembly, with each pupil having a particular role to ensure that the project conveyed the spirit of team effort.

During the Lent and Summer Terms the projects will consist of strategic thinking in Science and Maths and Science and Sport.

The consortium of the six schools' projects (of which Saint Felix school is a member) to provide new learning opportunities for Years 7 and 8 gifted and talented pupils, has now completed the first part of the second project, and planning is now underway for the third project on Science and Sport during the summer term. The first project was about Science and Maths in the Workplace and the second one, about Strategic Thinking, is currently being undertaken with the successful completion of the first part: a one day course at the Department of Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia where students were engaged in extemporaneously dispensing calamine lotion and a hand cream and qualitative investigative work which formed part of a Forensic Science challenge. The second part of the project will involve strategic thinking in Maths and a Maths challenge between the six schools. The third project will focus on how science and sport are linked and could include students measuring the body’s biochemistry, collecting and disseminating data and how science is used to develop sports equipment.

Mr Derek Bryanton, Saint Felix School’s gifted and talented co-ordinator, would be pleased to answer any questions arising from this exciting venture and would be prepared to offer a consultancy service to individual schools.