Helped BYS escort a small group of gifted Maths Year 10 pupils to Portsmouth this afternoon. We went to the Dockyards for a very short afternoon workshop. The kids were all from Ellen's class so I was very interested in what constitutes gifted and talented. As befits the state sector, there are specific definitions. "Able" means that the child has scored 120 or more on 1 or more of the three CAT tests every child takes. Ellen and Ted both scored 120+ in all three putting them in the top 2% of the population. "Gifted" means a child has a specific ability in an academic subject. "Talented" means a child has a specific ability in a sport or art. There is meant to be a register in every school.
Back to Portsmouth. it was short, interesting and not a whole lot to do with Maths. The kids seemed to enjoy it, partly because they were out of school and partly because they got to see a 60 pound cannonball smash a thick piece of wood in half
