Islington Public School's High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) program is extending students in many directions, and for some that has been as far as east Africa.

Principal Megan Hamilton said learning Swahili was one of the more unusual avenues to challenging students in its whole-school Talent Development Program.

“We have activities covering all four domains of HPGE; academic, creative, sporting and wellbeing / leadership,” Ms Hamilton said.

“The different groups meet across the week, many before 8.30am, supported by talented community members, parents and staff.

“The Swahili lessons are result of the suburb’s history of African families settling locally.

“While many have moved elsewhere, our site still hosts the Hunter Region African Communities Council, and one of our staff members is a native Swahili speaker.

“Over Term 4 last year and Term 1 this year, she taught thirty students conversational Swahili.

“They’ve had great fun trying it out on peers from east Africa and have spoken it in school assemblies.

“Starting to learn a language so foreign to them, and so different from European languages, really opens their minds to what’s beyond their own experience.”

The school’s other HPGE programs include debating and public speaking, visual arts, drama, animation, football and basketball.

Catering for all students’ interests has brought not only strong engagement, attendance standing at 95 per cent, but the word is spreading and currently the school is looking at enrolling a second Kindergarten class next year for the first time in many years.