Gifted and talented children to get £4m

TdaNews Direct
Published: 19 November, 2007

The Government has pledged to invest £4 million to help gifted and talented pupils in deprived areas gain university places.

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis made the announcement whilst speaking at the Girls' School Association conference in Leeds this week.

He said: "We need to be innovative and bold to meet our aim of raising standards in deprived communities.

"There are still neighbourhoods where going to university is exceptional and individual talent is wasted. I want to tap into the enormous enthusiasm and creativity in both state and independent sectors to help inspire bright youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds meet their potential and get to university"

In order to achieve this, Mr Adonis pledged that the Government would focus on attainment levels in modern languages, science and maths from GCSE to university entry level.

As part of the initiative, York city council together with state schools, the museums service and the city art gallery is fostering interschool links among staff and students to support learners aged 14 to 19, in a scheme entitled Learning Without Walls.