Supporting More Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils at St Matthew Academy

Statement of Principles

All teachers are responsible for providing a demanding and challenging curriculum that develops the knowledge, skills and confidence of pupils. Every teacher has the responsibility to develop the learning characteristics of the Academy so that pupils are resilient, persistent and can work collaboratively. Teachers should develop a pupil’s ability and confidence to overcome challenge and achieve the highest possible outcomes.  

Many of our pupils have high levels of prior academic attainment which we aim to develop and help them realise their potential by the time they leave at the end of Year 11. At St Matthew Academy, we have support programmes in place across the academy to ensure we do all we can to help pupils achieve their goals. The journey to fulfilling this potential starts on entry to the academy.

Each year group in the secondary phase has a number of pupils who have performed especially well in the core skills of literacy and numeracy and are identified as ‘More Able’. The pupils in the ‘more able’ cohort will be known to all teachers and will be supported across the academy to achieve the highest grades at GCSE.

We also acknowledge that pupils will show a particular aptitude or exceptional ability in a range of subjects and these are our ‘Subject Stars’. Pupils who achieve high levels of performance in traditionally academic areas such as English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities or Languages are designated as ‘gifted’ while those who excel in practical subjects such as Art, Performing Arts or PE are designated ‘talented’.

All teachers are responsible for:

• Providing a demanding and challenging curriculum that develops the knowledge, skills and confidence of pupils.
• Developing the learning characteristics of the academy so that pupils are resilient, persistent and can work collaboratively.
• Developing a pupil’s ability and confidence to overcome challenge and achieve the highest possible outcomes. 

The More Able, Gifted & Talented Programme is overseen by a member of the Senior Leadership Team.