'Gifted' or 'talented': establishing terminology

"Pupils that are identified as 'gifted' should be achieving, or have the potential to achieve, significantly above the average of their year group in National Curriculum subjects other than art, music or physical education (PE). 'Talented' pupils possess significant ability in the arts or sports. The DfES recognises that some gifted and talented pupils will be all-rounders. At least two thirds of the gifted and talented pupils in each year group were to be identified on the basis of their academic ability (that is, gifted or all-rounders)."i

Curriculum planners should not use this distinction between an academic 'gift' and an artistic 'talent' to make assumptions about the abilities of the overall cohort of pupils which might engage in the academic subjects when compared with those who engage in the arts. Often there is a relationship between intellectual ability and performance in all National Curriculum subjects, though there are exceptions.