Ignite 2019 Year 8 Candidate Interviews

Aberfoyle Park High School is the official Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) school for gifted students in the southern metropolitan area of Adelaide. DECD provides extra resources for the innovative Ignite program designed to cater for the academic, social and emotional needs of gifted students.

Students are selected on the basis of performance in Mathematics, Creative Writing, English Comprehension and Abstract Reasoning as assessed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) followed by an interview.

The Ignite program has been specifically designed to meet the needs of gifted students. The program offers:

• compacted curriculum, completing years 8 and 9 in one year
• subject acceleration where required
• enrichment and extension activities

Features of the Ignite Program:

• Gifted students are able to work with intellectual and social peers
• Aberfoyle Park HS teachers have been trained in gifted education and present papers at state, national and international conferences
• Parent involvement, a strong feature of the program, is welcomed
• An ethos and environment which fosters the success of gifted students
• History of success

Ignite students can access varied Music and Visual and Performing Arts programs and extensive Sports and Athletics options. The school’s vibrant International program fosters student growth in socio-cultural awareness and fluency in three languages other than English. Ignite Field Studies take students to Canberra, Kangaroo Island and the Flinders Ranges to engage in curriculum-driven activities.

The co-curricular program provides further opportunities for extension and enrichment with activities such as:

• debating
• national competitions in Mathematics, Science, Informatics, English
• workshops specifically designed for gifted students
• a number of clubs including the chess club
• Tournament of Minds
• Youth  Opportunities – a personal leadership program
• Student leadership and representation on a number of school committees

If you are interested in applying for future years an expression of interest form can be found via the link at the bottom of the page.