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The widespread suppression of talent within areas of relative deprivation, by a variety of social and economic factors, casts a long-term shadow over a nation's development. Our intervention programme, operating within a government educational initiative of the United Kingdom, has enabled us to embark on an expedition of discovery of suppressed talent.During an interview two years after attending a four year-multi-faceted intervention programme, at our University, 18-year old Joseph talked of how he felt about being selected for the programme:'People go on about our school being in a slum area, going nowhere, but to be chosen for a University programme at the age of 12 was inspirational'. In its 7 th year, 300 students have so far completed the programme. After having celebrated its success at a national conference attended by Mrs Sarah Brown (the UK PrimeMinster's wife) and the Schools Minister Lord Andrew Adonis, the programme team shares their experiences in this paper.

International evidence demonstrates the importance of engaging parents in the education of their 'high potential' children, yet

This article presents and analyzes policies in identification and provisions in England with respect to gifted education. England has developed a national policy to provide services to identified students. Surveys and interviews with teachers illustrate how implementation of both identification and provision policy elements were handled. Although policy evaluation was conducted by an external ministry agency, it appears to have had little impact on practice. The article suggests that policy implementation, if left to local schools in the absence of monitoring controls, results in lack of services to gifted children in local school environments.

Abstract:In recent years many school district budgets have been reduced. Essential life skill classes, such as home economics and personal finance, have been eliminated leaving youth unprepared to live on their own. 4-H Survivor Camp was developed to meet this need. Survivor Camp provides the opportunity for youth to learn and practice basic life skills needed to make a successful transition from high school to young adulthood. The camp is based on seven core lessons: Living on a Budget, Renting an Apartment, Living with a Roommate, Food Preparation, Career Preparation, Self Awareness and Personal Reflection. Evaluation results show that youth who have participated in the program feel more prepared to face the realities of living on their own. The value of this curriculum is that it is adaptable for youth anywhere and in a variety of settings. This article discusses the real-tolife experiences taught at the camp and the related life skills reinforced.