Providing a supportive and
engaging environment for academic exploration.

Catering to the unique learning needs of high-ability and academically talented students at both Preparatory and Senior School, our sector-leading program is based on Gagné's Differentiating Model of Giftedness and Talent. The programs aim to identify exceptional abilities in subjects like language(s), maths, sciences, and humanities. All boys in Year 2 and Year 6, and all new students (up to Year 9 and in Year 10+ by nomination), are screened for the ATD Program using multiple measures of ability, achievement, prior performance/grades and feedback from parents and teachers.

The identification process acknowledges that boys may exhibit giftedness and still be in the process of developing talent. Similarly, gifted students may underachieve. It also acknowledges that some gifted students may also have a learning disability or difficulty. Identification focuses on ability/potential in the lower grades, with more weight being given to academic performance in the upper grades. As with any innate ability, talent is developed through hard work, effort, task commitment and perseverance.

Academically talented students are not a homogeneous group and may exhibit uneven strength areas and/or social-emotional development. Like to request additional information about program identification? Please don't hesitate to make contact.
Ms Jasna Giebeler (Preparatory ATD) [email protected])
Dr Sarah Bond (Senior ATD) [email protected]).

ATD – Senior School

The ATD Centre at the Senior School offers a dynamic and supportive space for students to engage in a wide range of academic pursuits including accelerated learning, academic competitions, and projects of personal interest. The Centre promotes collaboration between students of all ages, including intellectual peers and those who share common interests. Emphasis is placed on mentoring, with the pinnacle of ATD being the Honours program, in which year 12 students model character, leadership, service and scholarship. Honours recipients are highly successful academics, who complete high-level research projects on topics of personal passion, which are then presented to younger students through captivating and interactive workshops.

The Senior School ATD program offers a wide range of programs to meet students’ diverse interests, including highly competitive academic teams at National and International levels, including World Scholar’s Cup, daVinci Decathlon, Tournament of Minds, Future Problem Solving, Ethics Olympiad, the Australian Science and Engineering Challenge, Write-a-Book in a Day, the Australian Problem Solving Mathematics Olympiad, ACER Global Challenge, Australian Maths Trust competitions, ICAS, F1 STEM and Model United Nations programs.

ATD– Prep School

The ATD Centre at the Preparatory School is a learning hub for high-ability students to develop critical and creative thinking, innovation and research skills, and allows the perfect environment for collaboration for academic pursuits. With a focus on individual strengths, and developing learner agency, students work at a level two to three years above their age level. Students engage in long term projects of interest to become experts in their field of study.

They do so by contacting professionals to explore their curiosity and on completion present their findings. The ATD Centre also offers different learning pathways such as literacy, maths and science acceleration, extension and enrichment. The Preparatory ATD Centre provides opportunities for dedicated age-specific projects.