High potential and gifted education
At Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School, every learner’s potential is our priority. Through our moto of Care, Opportunity and Success, we are committed to developing high potential across all four domains of creative, intellectual, physical and social-emotional
We foster a culture of high expectations and equity in excellence, ensuring every student, regardless of their background has opportunities to develop their potential into talent.
Nepean CAPA High School offers a diverse range of opportunities for all students not only in the Creative and Performing Arts but in the Academic (Enrichment and Acceleration), Leadership and Sporting fields.
Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?
Recognising potential and developing talent
Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.
Tailored lessons
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.
Rich opportunities and activities
Students can take part in opportunities to develop their talent in the arts, sport, leadership and more.
Opening doors to wider experiences
Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunities that aim to extend and enrich student potential.
What is high potential and gifted education?
High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) is how our school supports students with advanced learning needs.
We do this through:
- effective teaching strategies like enrichment, extension and acceleration
- tailored support during lessons that stretch, challenge and inspire
- access to a wide range of opportunities both within and beyond our school.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
At Nepean CAPA High School we are committed to recognising and nurturing high potential and gifted students, ensuring every student has the opportunity to thrive at our school.
We offer an Enrichment class in Year 7 and 8 that caters for students who demonstrate high potential academically through engagement with the AGAT Test.
As a Creative and Performing Arts High School we audition students into Advanced classes in Circus Arts, Creative Arts, Dance, Drama and Music enabling students with high potential to thrive and continue to develop their skills amongst their peers in areas of excellence.
We firmly believe that every student has the opportunity to achieve and through high quality explicit teaching and differentiated programs in our classroom we ensure that every student has the potential to develop talent.
The Creative and Performing Arts faculty offers a comprehensive and highly successful extra-curricular program featuring over 40 ensembles, companies, and studios. These programs are thoughtfully designed to enhance students’ practical and technical skills across a diverse range of styles and genres, including Circus Arts, Creative Arts, Dance, Drama, and Music.
In 2026, the school will launch a strategic partnership with Sydney West Sports Medicine to support our elite athletes in Circus Arts, Dance, and Sport. This collaboration will provide access to Exercise Physiologists and Physiotherapists for performance, strength, and load testing. Dedicated support throughout the year will ensure the development of tailored plans that promote student growth, health, and achievement.
We maintain a close partnership with Wild Heart Creatives, specialists in Musical Theatre, Vocal Performance, and Drama. They provide expert workshops and ongoing support in vocal training, drama, and musical theatre disciplines, enriching our students' experiences and skills.
Our biannual Showcase seasons, held in both Semester 1 and Semester 2, offer Performing Arts students the opportunity to present their learning and talents through class-based and extra-curricular performances.
The Student Leadership Council and Peer Leader program foster leadership development for high-potential students. These initiatives provide authentic opportunities to cultivate skills in communication, creativity, problem-solving, and ethical decision-making through activities such as public speaking, event management, financial planning, and inclusive teamwork.
Additionally, we provide student mentors from our enrichment classes who support partner primary school students during the Nepean Learning Community’s Annual STEAM Day. Our Science Week activities are also open to all students interested in engaging with STEM disciplines, further promoting collaboration and learning opportunities beyond the classroom.
Students from our partner primary schools participate in our Training Band and Orchestra programs to further develop their instrumental skills. Additionally, our VET Dance Assist students collaborate with these primary schools to choreograph dances for Stage 2 and Stage 3 students. This collaborative initiative fosters leadership and creativity among our students while simultaneously enhancing the socio-emotional skills of both our students and their primary school counterparts.
Our students take part in a number of statewide programs such as:
- Schools Spectacular
- Southern Stars
- PULSE Alive
- Nepean Festival of Art and Design
- Young Archibald
- Manly Jazz Festival
- In Concert
- Arts Unit Choral and Instrumental Festivals
- Arts Unit Combined Musical
- Limelight Performing Arts Festival
- State Dance and Drama Festivals
- Synergy Dance Festival
- Nexus Drama Festival
- Blue Mountains Nepean Dance Festival
- In the Spotlight Dance Festival
- Lighthouse Dance Festival
- Australian Dance Festival (ADF)
- LightsUp Drama Festival
- Inspire Arts Challenge
- Arts Unit Combined School Musical
STEM students take part in the following programs:
- CSIRO Generation STEM program
- With STEM You Can Careers Expo
- Western Sydney University Year 8 Science Enrichment Day
- Premier's Debating Challenge
- National Science & Engineering Challenge
- Western Sydney University Science and Maths Expo
- Maths Olympiad
- ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) Mathematics competition
Curricular
The Nepean CAPA Curricular Program provides specialist classes designed to support, develop and enrich students who demonstrate high potential and who are gifted or highly gifted within the creative domain of The Arts. Students have the opportunity to develop and excel in their chosen area under the expert tutelage of highly trained staff. Entry to these programs is via audition only. 2025 auditions will open in March for Circus Arts, Creative Arts, Dance, Drama and Music from Years 7 through to 11.
Exta-Curricular
The Creative and Performing Arts Extra-Curricular Program involves a series of Ensembles, Companies and Studios that rehearse and meet before and/or after school. These programs offer students the opportunity to extend and develop their skills in specific genres of Circus Arts, Creative Arts, Dance, Drama and Music that are not limited by curriculum constraints. Students engaged in this program have the opportunity to perform and exhibit in festivals and shows outside of school. This program is open to ALL students of Nepean CAPA High School annually.
Year 7 Enrichment Class
Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School promotes engagement across the intellectual, creative, social-emotional and physical domains of giftedness and high potential. We are committed to providing high quality differentiated learning experiences to support academic achievement and growth for all students, in all classrooms.
To cater specifically to high potential and gifted students in the Intellectual domain, we offer an enrichment class for students who are academically gifted, or who show high academic potential.
Students who are successful in gaining entry to the 2027 enrichment class will engage in learning opportunities that challenge and inspire them to achieve and stretch their potential. Teachers of the enrichment class work together to provide the highest level of academic rigour and specialised learning programs.
Entry into the Year 7 enrichment class is determined through both a placement test and an application form.
Placement test
The Australian Council of Educational Research General Ability Test (AGAT) is an online test to assess students’ general reasoning ability. Students will be provided with a computer to access this test at Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School. Testing takes 50 minutes and contains 30 – 40 questions.
The test assesses students’ reasoning skills in five areas:
Verbal | Numerical | Abstract (Visual) | Kinetic | Spatial
Placement test date
The placement test will be held in Week 10 Term 1 2026 (Monday 30 March – Thursday 2 April).
Please note: Your child only needs to attend one of these days. You will be contacted with the date and time of your child’s test once applications have closed.
Application form
The application form is an online document that we request both you and your child complete. There are three questions in the form that are required to be completed by your child. The questions are as follows:
- What specifically encouraged you to apply for the Enrichment Class at Nepean CAPA High School?
- If you are successful in gaining a place in the class, what are your goals as a learner at Nepean CAPA High School?
- How do you believe your unique capabilities and perspective would contribute to and enhance our school community?
Please also have the following documentation ready to upload with the form:
- A headshot photograph of your child
- A teacher recommendation from the student’s classroom teacher
- Health Support Information (only if health support is or may be required during the testing)
Selection and offers
The Year 7 2027 Enrichment class will be determined after close examination of the application form and test results. Offers will be made via email by Friday 1 May 2026.
Successful applicants will be required to respond via email to their invitation indicating whether they intend to accept their place in this program.
Successful applicants are required to uphold the following expectations throughout their time in the Enrichment Class. Students are required to have:
- A commitment to learning and developing skills in all classes
- A commitment to engage in all tasks and activities
- A commitment to be part of a team of high achieving students supporting each other as learners
Failure to uphold these expectations may result in movement from the Enrichment Class to a regular mainstream class.
How to apply
Placement test date
The placement test will be held in Week 10 Term 1 2026 (Monday 30 March – Thursday 2 April).
Please note: Your child only needs to attend one of these days. You will be contacted with the date and time of your child’s test once applications have closed.
Help for your high potential child
If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.
Student opportunities and activities
Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.
Learning
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