What is the definition of 'gifted'? Is it getting straight As when you sit your O levels at the normal age for sitting them? Or is it sitting your O levels aged 10?
I went to a state primary school that was being gradually closed down, so that the space could be grabbed by a secondary school. Thus we were always the youngest kids in the school - as we moved from primary one to primary two, there was no intake of new kids behind us. I have no idea what psychological effect always being the youngest had on me. (My brothers went to another primary, as they were younger than me).
My secondary school lumped people together at random in 1st Year, then streamed them thereafter by academic ability. However the streaming had some flexibility - if you were good at French and rubbish at Maths, you'd be in the top set for French, but a lower set for Maths. But I don't know anyone who was in the top set for one subject and the bottom set for another - I suspect they just dropped you from top to middle. The school also had a prize giving every year, where the academic people as well as the sporty people got prizes (books - yaaaay!).
They worked out who got the academic prizes because we sat exams twice a year, every year, from age 12 onwards. So exams were 'normal' rather than unusual and stressful. In O grade/Higher years the only difference was you sat three exams that year, not two!
The school also streamed the ability to do certain subjects - you couldn't do Latin unless you'd scored 60% or more in French in your 1st Year. (Doing Latin had the added bonus of getting you out of doing Home Economics).
no subject
I went to a state primary school that was being gradually closed down, so that the space could be grabbed by a secondary school. Thus we were always the youngest kids in the school - as we moved from primary one to primary two, there was no intake of new kids behind us. I have no idea what psychological effect always being the youngest had on me. (My brothers went to another primary, as they were younger than me).
My secondary school lumped people together at random in 1st Year, then streamed them thereafter by academic ability. However the streaming had some flexibility - if you were good at French and rubbish at Maths, you'd be in the top set for French, but a lower set for Maths. But I don't know anyone who was in the top set for one subject and the bottom set for another - I suspect they just dropped you from top to middle. The school also had a prize giving every year, where the academic people as well as the sporty people got prizes (books - yaaaay!).
They worked out who got the academic prizes because we sat exams twice a year, every year, from age 12 onwards. So exams were 'normal' rather than unusual and stressful. In O grade/Higher years the only difference was you sat three exams that year, not two!
The school also streamed the ability to do certain subjects - you couldn't do Latin unless you'd scored 60% or more in French in your 1st Year. (Doing Latin had the added bonus of getting you out of doing Home Economics).