High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE)

Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.

Each student has different abilities. Teachers respond to each student’s ability by providing extra challenges and extension activities to keep learning exciting and engaging.

Students can take part in opportunities to develop their talent in the arts, sport, leadership and more.

Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunities that aim to extend and enrich student potential.

Intellectual Domain

• Extension Courses (English, Maths, History) – Provides enrichment and acceleration, fostering advanced analytical and abstract thinking.
• Debating & Slam Poetry – Builds persuasive, reasoning, and communication skills, developing critical thinking and intellectual engagement.
• STEM & Science Society Projects – Inquiry-based exploration of real-world scientific problems, promoting higher-order problem-solving and innovation.
• AMGEN Biotech Experience – Hands-on biotechnology learning using real lab techniques to extend scientific thinking.
• Gifted Gateways – Statewide enrichment programs connecting students with peers and experts, deepening cognitive challenge.
• Australian History Competition – National competition testing analytical and literacy skills, fostering advanced historical reasoning.
• WSU Fast Forward – Partnership program exploring higher education pathways and building aspirational learning.
• USyd Future Focus – Career and study planning for Years 10–12, encouraging metacognition and agency.
• Engineering Head Start – Advanced STEM learning at university level, providing acceleration and depth.
• Public Speaking, Writing & Bell Shakespeare Competitions – State or national competitions enhancing verbal reasoning, creativity, and performance under challenge.

Creative Domain

• MADD Program (Music, Art, Dance, Drama) – Classroom rehearsal and performance skill development, providing differentiated pathways for artistic expression.
• Music Enrichment Program – Guided instrumental and performance workshops offering challenges for musically talented students.
• Debating & Slam Poetry – Encourages creative language use and expressive communication.
• Art on the Hill – Whole-school celebration of visual and performing arts, extending creative potential and offering authentic performance experiences.
• MADD Night / Elevated Cultural Festival – Showcases artistic excellence and provides public recognition of talent.
• Haka Warriors & Junior Haka Warriors – Cultural performance programs fostering creativity and artistic expression.
• School Spectacular & PULSE Alive (State level) – Large-scale productions extending creativity and collaboration in high-performance settings.
• MMAD (Musicians Making a Difference) – Mentorship and performance in music that strengthens creativity, resilience, and purpose-driven artistic expression.
• Public Speaking, Writing & Bell Shakespeare Competitions – Promotes creative interpretation and expressive literacy.

Physical Domain

• Hoops for Hope – Intra-school basketball fostering teamwork, leadership, and strategic thinking.
• Haka Warriors & Junior Haka Warriors – Cultural performance programs developing stamina, coordination, and expression.
• Dance Ensembles & Workshops – Enhances physical expression, coordination, and performance endurance.
• Zone, Sydney West, CHS, & Knockout Competitions – Regional and state sporting representation building resilience under pressure.
• Volleyball Schools Cup – State-level competition promoting high-level collaboration, precision, and physical performance.
• Duke of Edinburgh Program (All Stages) – Service, skill development, and leadership through physical and personal challenge.

Social-Emotional Domain

• Debating & Slam Poetry – Develops confidence, collaboration, and emotional expression.
• Hoops for Hope – Strengthens teamwork, leadership, and social cohesion.
• SALSA (Students as Lifestyle Activists) – Peer-led leadership fostering communication, health advocacy, and responsibility.
• Haka Warriors & Junior Haka Warriors – Encourages cultural identity, pride, leadership, and social engagement.
• Peer Mentoring & Coaching – Fosters collaboration, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Duke of Edinburgh Program (All Stages) – Strengthens resilience, independence, and leadership.
• Origin Explorers – Connects students with mentors, enhancing teamwork and problem-solving.
• Youth Ambassadors – Encourages civic engagement and leadership in authentic contexts.
• WSU Fast Forward / USyd Future Focus – Builds agency, goal-setting, and self-awareness for academic and career pathways.

SALSA – Students as Lifestyle Activists

SALSA empowers high-potential and gifted students to lead initiatives that promote healthy living and wellbeing across the school and wider community. Participants develop leadership, advocacy, teamwork, and social-emotional skills while making a measurable impact. Recent student presentations at the WSyd Moving Symposium showcased the program’s success in fostering initiative, public speaking, and real-world influence, as highlighted by the Corporate Communications team at WSLHD.

Click here to view the Western Sydney Moving Symposium Article

Elite Sports

Elite Sports at RHHS provides high-potential and gifted students with specialised pathways featuring advanced coaching, competitive opportunities, and development programs, with a particular focus on women’s volleyball. Participants build resilience, teamwork, and high-performance skills while competing at regional, state, and school levels. Recent achievements include 2025 CHS Sydney West Champions in Opens Girls and Boys Volleyball, multiple Gold and Silver medals across Year 7–10 teams, and success in the Gold CBBA Term 3 School Tournament Basketball Championship, highlighting the program’s commitment to fostering excellence, collaboration, and athletic leadership.

Milkshakes & Monet

Milkshakes and Monet provides high-potential and gifted students from local primary schools with a hands-on creative arts experience that balances achievement with artistic expression. Participants collaborate with expert Visual Arts teachers to create mixed media artworks inspired by Claude Monet, developing technical skills, creativity, and confidence. The program celebrates the talents of students from Minchinbury, Mt Druitt, Eastern Creek, and Rooty Hill Primary schools, while promoting wellbeing, collaboration, and personal growth. It is part of the 2025 Learning Neighbourhood and Talent Development initiative, combining fun, creativity, and mentorship to inspire the next generation of young artists.

Haka Warriors

The Haka Warrior program at Rooty Hill High School empowers high-potential and gifted students to develop leadership, cultural understanding, and social-emotional skills through Pasifika cultural performance. In partnership with PCYC Blacktown since 2020, the program engages students with local elders and volunteers to foster identity, unity, resilience, and positive community impact. Over the past five years, students have demonstrated excellence through sustained commitment, culminating in Best Overall Performance at the 2025 PCYC Haka Warriors Showcase. The program is inclusive of both male and female participants, providing a platform to extend leadership, teamwork, and cultural expression. Haka Warriors combines creativity, discipline, and mentorship to help students build confidence, pride, and skills that align directly with HPGE domains in social-emotional, leadership, and creative development.

Rooty Hill High School were awarded the 2023 and 2025 Best Overall Haka Warrior Team.

Click here to view the 9 News video