A school for gifted children is a school that is explicitly targeted at students who are gifted and talented (typically intellectually). This page is about brick-and-mortar schools. For the online schools, see online school.
Some general things to keep in mind
- The standards for admission and for staying in school can differ widely between different schools. Some schools labeled schools for gifted children may not be different from elite private schools not so labeled, in terms of either their student population or their teaching (the only difference may be that they have a slightly smaller proportion of wealthy low-ability students).
- Some schools for gifted children are focused on specific topic areas. This includes science-focused schools and mathematics-focused schools. The courses of these schools in other areas may be of relatively low quality.
- If your child is exceptionally gifted or profoundly gifted (this roughly corresponds to IQs 160-179 and 180+) then even a school for gifted children (generally aimed at students with IQ 130+, though IQ is not the only way a student can be gifted) may not be a good fit for him or her. Such a student may be out of place at a school for gifted children in the same way that an ordinary gifted student is out of place at a school for ordinary children.