Devizes School AGAT

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Devizes School AGAT

• Frequently Asked Questions Information for
  Parents

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AGAT

• Introduction to Parents Students
• We at Devizes School passionately believe that
  Able, Gifted Talented students require
  specialised support in order to meet their full
  potential. All students are entitled to a
  personalised curriculum, therefore students who
  are able or have a gift or talent should have
  their learning needs met as part of an
  entitlement curriculum.

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AGAT

• GCSE Results, August 2013, Devizes School
• Our AGAT core cohort of 13 students achieved at
  least 5 A-C grades in their examinations.
• 12 of them received at least 5 A-C including
  Maths, English and Science.
• 12 out of 13 achieved at least 8 A-C grades in
  total, with 7 of them achieving at least 8 A-A
  grades.
• AN EXCELLENT YEAR OF RESULTS OVERALL!

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AGAT

• Q. My son/daughter is on the AGAT register at
  their primary school, does this mean they will
  be on the AGAT register at Devizes School?
• A. Not necessarily, it will depend if they
  meet the criteria that Devizes School uses for
  identification.

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AGAT

• Q. What does AGAT stand for?
• A. AGAT students are approximately the top 10
  of a year group.
• A stands for Able
• G will represent a smaller group of students
  who are Gifted in academic subjects.
• T stands for Talented which is those students
  excelling in practical subjects, i.e. PE, Drama
  and DT.

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AGAT

• Q. What does Devizes School do to support
  students who are Able, Gifted Talented?
• A. More challenge in the classroom and
  appropriate differentiation to extend and
  facilitate the learning of our higher achieving
  students. See what Ofsted said about our
  teaching

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AGAT

• In a lesson students were empowered by the
  teacher to take command of their own learning and
  confidently articulate aspects of collision
  theory and activation energy whilst exploring the
  relationship between dependent variables and
  independent variables. Learning is strongest
  where teachers use learning activities to
  identify gaps in knowledge and then address any
  misconceptions through high-quality questioning,
  precise feedback, greater challenge and frequent
  opportunities for students to shape lines of
  enquiry. Ofsted Inspection, Feb. 2012

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AGAT

• (1) Enrichment activities are offered by
  Faculties throughout the year such as KS3
  Science AGAT Day, Year 7 Maths Problem Solving
  Activities, News Report Day, Poetry by Heart and
  the recent Year 5 WOW Days which involved a
  number of our feeder primary schools, as well as
  some of our own AGAT students.

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AGAT

• (2) External AGAT Courses - Students are
  nominated to attend specific AGAT Courses for
  which a fee is usually payable. Over the last
  few years, students have attended such courses
  as Geography AGAT Day at Bath University,
  Language Enrichment Courses at Bath Spa
  University as well as a variety of courses at
  Kilve Court in Somerset, Braeside and Oxenwood.

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AGAT

• Q. How does Devizes School identify students for
  the AGAT register?
• (1) The school has a Core Register which
  contains students who achieve particular levels
  in CATs (Cognitive Ability Tests) and SATs.
  These students will remain on the Core Register
  throughout KS 3 4 and their progress will be
  monitored.

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AGAT

• The school has Subject Registers which contain
  students who are identified as gifted or talented
  in specific subjects for each academic year. The
  Subject Register is revised annually to ensure
  that students who meet the subject-specific
  criteria are always included.

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AGAT

• Q. My child doesnt feel challenged. What can I
  do?
• A. Contact the school. You can either contact
  specific staff for advice or the AGAT
  Co-ordinator, Becky Windridge (rwindridge_at_devizes
  .wilts.sch.uk)

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AGAT

• Q. My child has been identified as Gifted
  Talented. How can I support them?
• (1) Encourage your Able Talented child to
  develop good study skills and advanced reading
  skills (skimming and scanning) so that time is
  used to its best value and time gained can be
  given over to exciting and challenging tasks.

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AGAT

• (2) Try to encourage your child to use thinking
  skills as often as possible, and to value the
  more complex working involved. This takes more
  attention at first but it is crucial to success
  in the long term, i.e. tackling puzzles, asking
  challenging questions and talking through
  problem solving activities.

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AGAT

• Q. I think my child is gifted or talented, what
  should I do?
• A. If you feel that your son/daughter is gifted
  or talented in a particular area then speak to
  their subject teacher. If not contact the AGAT
  Co-ordinator.

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AGAT Contact Details
AGAT Co-ordinator Mrs. R. Windridge rwindridge_at_d
evizes.wilts.sch.uk Tel [phone] ext.
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