In his Policy Address delivered in October 2006, the Chief Executive announced the establishment of an Academy for Gifted Education (the HKAGE) to provide more structured, articulated and challenging off-site programmes for students with exceptional talent, and to promote the concepts and practices of gifted education. The Legislative Council Panel on Education discussed in November 2006 the Administration’s proposal to provide financial support for the setting up of the Academy.

The HKAGE informally started its planning and preparatory work in early 2008 when the Executive Director took up his post.

The HKAGE will operate independently of Government departments to provide for flexibility of management and operations.

The target population will be Hong Kong’s exceptionally gifted students, defined as those who consistently perform in the top 2% of the age-related ability range. Initially we will concentrate our resources on the 10-18 age range.

We will provide challenging learning opportunities for gifted students to enable them to stretch their potential in a wide range of specialist areas, including leadership, creativity, personal-social competence. In due course the range and variety of these courses will be extended as the range of partners increases to include local universities, professional organizations, individuals and NGOs. All the courses will be available “off site”, though school venues will not be uncommon.

Such programmes may include workshops, master classes, weekend courses, exchange programmes, mentoring, field trips, and the like in a wide variety of different domains. We expect to cater for 10 000 students during the period of 2008-2011.

A central plank of our work will be to promote a better understanding of the needs of gifted students and of their holistic development as well as developing their confidence in the pursuit of excellence and their commitment to serving the community.

The need for parent and school support is also recognized. We intend to provide a Consultation Centre for parents and teachers within the Academy structure. This Centre will provide a territory-wide phone and email Helpline and an assessment facility for those students whose learning needs are complex and in need of clarification.

Parental education will be provided on a range of subjects including the identification and nurturing of gifted children. Workshops, seminars and support groups will be held. It is expected that around 5 000 parents could be served each year.

Diversified training opportunities in specialist areas will be provided to teachers to develop their skills in nurturing gifted students in schools. Training programmes will include structured courses, short thematic courses, seminars and talks, though increasingly schools will be encouraged to support their work through exchanging best practice ideas in learning network communities. From a base of only a few hundred teachers in the first years it is intended that ALL teachers in Hong Kong will have the opportunity to develop their skills in GE .

The Academy will also conduct research and development conducive to a sustainable growth and advancement of knowledge in gifted education in Hong Kong. We aim to partner closely with local and overseas universities to set up a network of mentors comprising different expertise to support the development of gifted students in Hong Kong. We will also initiate and conduct research to provide evidence-based advice on services for the gifted, effective pedagogy, and government policy conducive to a sustainable growth and advancement of knowledge in gifted education in Hong Kong.

All of these developments will enable EDB to concentrate its efforts on collaborating with schools to promote effective learning and teaching practices in the classroom (Level 1) and provide support to pull-out programmes inside schools (Level 2). EDB will continue to offer relevant professional development programmes for in-service teachers and may provide some of these programmes in collaboration with the Academy. This will ensure a ‘seamless’ development of gifted students across learning contexts inside and outside schools.

The Fung Hon Chu Gifted Education Centre, currently managed by EDB, will continue to serve as a resource centre for promoting general gifted education in Hong Kong with an emphasis on Levels 1 and 2. It may also collaborate with the Academy to run courses for teachers and parents.