At Port Hacking High School, high potential and gifted education (HPGE) is taught every day in every classroom.

Principal, Rick Turansky, says the aim is simple.

“We want every student to be known, challenged and supported to grow,” Mr Turansky said.

As well as academies in Football and Dance and a thriving HPGE enrichment program with the local primary schools, Port Hacking High School now offers an HPGE extension class for year 7 students.

“Not all students who are gifted and display high potential want to go to their specialist selective school or a non-government school,” he said.

“They want to go to their public comprehensive high school with their friends, which also caters for their needs. And this is what we're really achieving here.”

Nathan Dwyer, the Head Teacher, Teaching and Learning, said there were 20 students in the extension class, all identified as gifted or having high potential during their final year of primary school.

“Putting them together in a class really allows us to differentiate their learning and make it more catered to their capabilities,” Mr Dwyer said.

“So, for example, the group I teach with health already understood most of the fundamentals for that particular unit of work, so we had to look at how we can extend them, how can we dig deeper.

“We're trying to create an environment where there's the opportunity for students to develop collaborative and creative thinking skills - the sort of skills which are essential in the modern-day workforce because that's ultimately what we're preparing our students for.”

HPGE Extension Classes are now running in eight public high schools, with more schools to join the initiative next year. The schools were selected to address unmet demand for extension class offerings.

As well as Port Hacking, the high schools running new classes in 2026 are:

• Chifley College: Dunheved Campus

• Kooringal High School
  

• Hunters Hill High School

• Lisarow High School
  

• Elderslie High School

• Georges River College: Peakhurst Campus
  

• Riverstone High School

The extension class initiative is being delivered under the groundbreaking Inspire program which is rolling out high potential and gifted education in every public school in NSW.

Inspire is backed by targeted teacher professional development in gifted education, to ensure all students are challenged to achieve their full potential across academics, the arts, leadership and sport.