Ignite is a program for gifted and talented young people in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, created in 1997 and formerly known as SHIP (Students with High Intellectual Potential). It is administered by the South Australian

Department of Education and Children's Services The Department for Education of South Australia is a state Government of South Australia, government department delivering school education throughout the state. Education in Australia at school level is managed by each state, though the Commonweal ...

How the program works

At the beginning of the school year in South Australia (i.e. January), DfE (Department for Education) advertises for Year 6 or Year 7 applicants to take part in the program in the following year. The applicants are charged $100 and take a test made up of

reading comprehension Reading comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with what the reader already knows. Fundamental skills required in efficient reading comprehension are knowing meaning of words, ability to understand ...

, written literacy,

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and an Abstract Reasoning test at one of the three participating schools

Aberfoyle Park High School Aberfoyle Park High School is a large state school, public secondary schools in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Its facilities include the Community Library, Performing Arts Centre, Gymnasium, and the Informati ...

Glenunga International High School Glenunga International High School (GIHS), formerly Glenunga High School (GHS), is a publicly-funded international school in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located approximately south-east of the Adelaide city centre in the suburb of Glenun ...

, or The Heights School. The best of the students who completed the test are notified later in the year (usually in the first term). Students are ranked on their performance and an aggregate is determined. The test is designed by ACER (

Australian Council for Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Dubai, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Lond ...

). Students who are eligible for school card do not pay the $100. The top 25 students are given a chance to "skip" year 9 with the Ignite compacted course, these student can pick any of the following courses if they do not wish to do compacted: Maths accelerated (rank 25-50 needed), English accelerated (rank 50-75 needed) and Broad focus (75-100, or the waiting list, which does not "skip" any subject but does go into deeper study). None of the courses are forced on the students, and they are allowed to pick another course, but the new course cannot be the compacted course if the student did not receive an offer.(e.g. A maths student cannot move to compacted).

Programs

As well as the Ignite compacted program, there is also Maths accelerated, English Accelerated and Broad focus, which is similar to the compacted program, except that children in this program do not "skip" year nine.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Ignite WebsiteThe Heights SchoolGlenunga International High SchoolAberfoyle Park High School
Education in South Australia Gifted education Australian educational programs 1998 establishments in Australia