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One of the developments is the Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth to be based at Warwick University in English Midlands. The Centre for Talented Youth at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, will partner it. David VandeLind is vice-chancellor of Warwick University and was a professor of engineering at John Hopkins University. He said: "I was privileged to witness the growth and development of a similar programme and to see what a difference it made to the lives of so many young people. I therefore retain a strong personal commitment to the creation of similar opportunities for gifted and talented youth in this country." The other core partner is the Research Centre for Able Pupils at Oxford Brookes University. The University of Durham, the University of York and the London School of Economics and Political Science are also involved in the initiative. The academy is intended to develop, implement, promote and support educational opportunities for gifted and talented people up to the age of 19, as well as providing support for parents and educators. It will also provide a nationally and internationally recognised centre from which to develop and deliver gifted and talented education. The university is committed to working with all parties, including international leaders in the field, to achieve an academy which will become a worldwide beacon of excellence. The academy will aim to respond to the individual needs of each learner, ensure the highest standards of delivery, provide equality of opportunity and create a supportive and culturally enriching learning community for students. During its pilot year, the academy will provide summer schools and weekend courses for about l00 of the UK's most academically gifted pupils aged 11 to 16 years. The aim is to expand to include both younger and older students. Eventually, the academy expects to teach several thousand of those pupils in the top five per cent of their chosen subjects, with separate courses for the elite one per cent.
Students at the academy will earn graduation certificates and a record of achievement but they will all be expected to remain at their own schools, with pupils of their own age, sitting the usual range of national examinations. The first 100 places will be filled through a national talent search which was launched in February .The academy has appealed to parents, children and their schools to nominate potential students. Students aged 11 to 16 are invited to register an interest in taking part in the pilot summer school which will be held at the university in July/August 2002. Exact selection details have not been finalised but David VandeLind said there would be some sort of specially devised entrance examination. The academy is expected to cost 20 million pounds sterling over the next five years, supported by funding from taxpayers, the university, business and philanthropists. Companies will be encouraged to support and follow talented students. Many parents will also have to pay several hundred pounds for their child's tuition and it is hoped that tuition will remain free for those who cannot afford it. Government ministers are especially keen to engage students from low-income areas and schools and whose talents may be blighted by below-average teaching or indifferent parental supervision. Pending the appointment of a permanent director for the academy, Warwick University has appointed a full-time interim director, Paul Greatrix, to ensure that the academy is managed effectively from the centre of the university and that all key components are delivered. When the academy was launched, Stephen Timms, UK Schools Standards Minister, maintained that its creation places the UK "firmly at the centre of the world stage in this field, providing an internationally recognised centre for research and development, as well as becoming the centrepiece of our national strategy to support and improve gifted and talented education." Among the proposals introduced by the Department for Education and Skills (DiES) is a move to encourage all seven-year-old pupils to learn a foreign language. Schools will be free to pick what language they teach but most are expected to choose French, German or Spanish. The introduction of general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) qualifications in vocational subjects, to build a parity of status between vocational /and academic qualifications, is another proposed development.
Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris explained that this particular proposal was intended to "set high achievers free from the rigid structures that have held them back in the past". Source: London Press Service, web site at: http://www.london.press.net Published on 15th July 2002
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A raft of new proposals for improving the educational system in the United Kingdom announced recently is part of a national debate on how to equip young people with the necessary skills to compete in the future global employment market.
Part-time weekend or short residential courses provided by university-level teachers and specialists will be offered in traditional academic subjects. Subjects such as psychology, economics, creative writing, classics and other subjects not normally taught in mainstream schools will be on offer. Courses for pupils talented in sports or the arts are also planned. More subjects will be added according to demand.
The curriculum for 14-year-olds and older should be made more flexible and that the more able pupils should be able to bypass GCSEs and go straight to advanced subsidiary (AS) level education.
