Call to extend gifted pupils

Press, 2 December 1985, Page 17

Call to extend gifted pupils

A revolution was needed in education, St Andrew’s College parents have been told.

Too many young people were leaving school without having mastered basic communication skills, said the school’s rector, Dr John Rentoul in his report delivered at the school’s sixtyninth annual prize-giving. The special needs of many adolescents were not being catered for and at the other end of the spectrum, gifted students were neglected, he said.

Too many pupils were prepared to be mediocre and did not have the desire to excel. New Zealanders lived in a society that avoided excel-

lence, except perhaps in sports, said Dr Rentoul. “There is a great need to cater for our most talented young people who in some respects are a disadvantaged group in our community.” Dr Rentoul suggested that primary schooling could continue until the age of 14, and children should not leave without having mastered a variety of skills. “Then secondary education could be revolutionised to offer a smorgasbord of schools which cater for different needs of adolescents, each child spending time in at least two unlike schools.

“Perhaps it is time to view education in a completely different way,” he said.