Gifted programmes in international schools: what to ask

Quick answer: what is the gifted program in school? It is extra provision for pupils working well beyond their age: enrichment, acceleration, ability grouping or differentiated classwork. Singapore's Ministry of Education replaces its Gifted Education Programme from 2027, while international schools such as Dulwich College (Singapore) and Tanglin Trust School run their own versions.

Last reviewed: November 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Programme details change each year; always confirm with the school.

Key takeaways

Singapore's Gifted Education Programme (GEP), run since 1984 for about 1% of each cohort, stops admitting new Primary 4 pupils from 2027, according to MOE.
Under MOE's 2026 plan, around 10% of each primary cohort will get school-based provision, and some will attend weekly two-hour advanced modules at 15 designated primary schools.
Primary 3 pupils in 2026 are the first to sit MOE's new one-stage identification exercise, held in August 2026.
International schools are outside the MOE scheme and set their own policies; Dulwich College (Singapore) calls its most able pupils "High Potential Learners" and bands maths classes in its Junior School.
CAT4, the reasoning test many British-curriculum schools use, covers ages 6 to 17+ across verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning, according to GL Assessment.

Most parents start asking what is the gifted program in school after a teacher says their child "needs more challenge" or a reasoning score comes back far above the average. In Singapore the question has extra weight in 2026, because the government programme many families have heard of, the GEP, is being wound down and replaced.

This guide explains the four models schools use, how children are identified, what changes in the Singapore system and what three international schools in the city say they offer. It ends with the questions that separate a real programme from a line in a brochure.

What is a gifted programme in school?

A gifted programme is any planned provision for children whose ability or attainment is well ahead of their age group. Few schools run a single "gifted class"; most combine several approaches, and the label varies: gifted and talented, more able, high potential or high ability learners.

Model	What it involves	Who it suits	School example
Enrichment	Broader, deeper work on the same topics, projects, clubs, competitions	Curious children ahead of the class who are happy with their peers	Tanglin Trust School: enrichment provision in every Junior School class
Acceleration	Moving faster: extra or early qualifications, a higher level in one subject	Children far ahead in one subject	Tanglin Sixth Form: a fourth A level for a strong (I)GCSE profile
Ability grouping	Classes set or banded by attainment in a subject	Strong mathematicians and linguists	Dulwich Junior School: banded maths classes
Differentiation	Tasks pitched at different levels inside one class	Most mixed-ability classes	Dulwich Junior School: individualised extension work in maths
Centre-based modules	Weekly two-hour sessions outside the child's own school	MOE primary pupils from 2027	MOE's 15 designated primary schools

Examples come from each school's own website and from MOE's March 2026 announcement. Enrichment and differentiation are the most common because they keep children with their year group; acceleration needs more planning, since a child who sits an exam early still needs something to study the following year.

How do schools identify gifted children?

Schools usually combine a reasoning test, classroom attainment and teacher observation, and very few rely on an IQ score alone. The tools you are most likely to meet are:

CAT4 (Cognitive Abilities Test). Published by GL Assessment for ages 6 to 17+, it measures verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning. GL Assessment says it can reveal ability not evident in the classroom and advises against practising beforehand.
WISC-V. Pearson's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children covers ages 6:0 to 16:11, takes about 60 minutes for the core subtests and must be given by a qualified professional, usually an educational psychologist. It reports a full-scale IQ and five index scores, which helps when a child is both very able and has a learning difficulty.
Attainment and observation. End-of-unit tests, reading ages, work samples and teachers' notes on how a child reasons, not only how fast they finish.

Ask which of these the school uses, when, and whether results are shared with you. A single test on a bad day should never close the door, and good schools review identification every year.

What is changing with Singapore's GEP?

The GEP in its current form ends: from 2027 it stops admitting new Primary 4 pupils, and existing classes run until 2028, when the last batch finishes Primary 6, according to MOE. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the change at the 2024 National Day Rally, and MOE's press release of 19 August 2024 applied it from the 2024 Primary 1 cohort.

Under the GEP, around 1% of each cohort has been selected through a two-stage test in Primary 3 and moved to one of nine primary schools offering the programme. MOE's 3 March 2026 release sets out the replacement. School-based provision, such as the Excellence 2000 (E2K) mathematics and science programme, will reach around 10% of the cohort, up from about 7%. Pupils who need further stretch can attend weekly two-hour advanced modules in English, mathematics or science during term time at one of 15 designated primary schools near their own, plus interdisciplinary modules in the holidays. Identification becomes a single standardised exercise in Primary 3, first held in August 2026, with further entry points at the end of each semester in Primary 4 and 5.

For expat families the practical point is that this scheme runs through MOE primary schools. At an international school, provision depends entirely on the school's own policy, which is why the questions below matter.

What do international schools in Singapore offer?

None of the three schools below advertises a separate gifted stream; each describes provision built into normal teaching, with different emphases.

Dulwich College (Singapore)

Dulwich publishes a High Potential Learners section for each stage. In the Junior School, maths classes are banded and teachers set individualised extension work, and the school reserves its "Above Expected" judgement for high potential learners who realise that potential. In the Senior School it lists 10 I/GCSEs as standard with the option of Additional Maths as an 11th, early I/GCSE entry in first languages such as French, Spanish, German and Japanese, Mandarin taught at three levels, and competitions from the Maths Olympiad to the World Scholar's Cup. The list is long, so ask how many pupils actually take part in each strand.

Tanglin Trust School

Tanglin's Junior School has a Personalised Learning Team, and the school says enrichment provision runs in all classes to give "appropriate depth of learning" to pupils with a higher level of understanding. In the Sixth Form, students choose between A levels and the IB Diploma; those with a strong academic profile, which the school defines as an (I)GCSE grade A or 8 profile across the board, can ask to take four A levels instead of three. Applicants for Year 7 and above sit diagnostic assessments. Tanglin's 2026-27 fee for Years 3 to 6 is S$47,490 a year including GST, so ask whether any enrichment is charged on top.

Dover Court International School

Dover Court describes itself as non-selective and inclusive, and from Year 1 it organises learning in three pathways. Most pupils follow Pathway 1, the English National Curriculum through I/GCSEs to the IB Diploma or IB courses; Pathway 2 (classes of 10, each child with an Individual Learning Plan) and Pathway 3 (classes of up to 8) add more support, and the school says some children move between pathways. It does not describe a separate programme for able pupils, so ask how Pathway 1 teachers stretch a child working well ahead, and how the school places a child who is very able in one area but needs support in another. Our guide to learning support in international schools for SEN and EAL covers that side in more depth.

Is there a gifted program in high school?

Yes, but at secondary level it rarely carries the name. Stretch comes through subject setting, extra or early qualifications, the choice of IB Higher Level subjects or a fourth A level, extended projects and academic competitions. Ask for the previous year's numbers: how many students took an extra I/GCSE, entered an olympiad or wrote an interdisciplinary Extended Essay.

What should you ask the school?

What do you call able pupils, and how many are on the register in my child's year?
How are they identified: CAT4, attainment data, teacher referral, an outside report? How often is the list reviewed?
Which models do you use: enrichment, setting, subject acceleration, early exams?
Who leads the provision, and how much staff time is dedicated to it?
Will you accept an educational psychologist's report, and does an assessment cost extra?
How do you support a child who is very able but also has dyslexia, ADHD or anxiety?
What happens the year after an early exam: what does my child study instead?
Are clubs, competitions and enrichment trips included in the fee?

Practical tip: bring examples of your child's work and any test reports to the admissions meeting, and ask to see a sample extension task. If you are still budgeting the move, our guide to the cost of living in Singapore for a family sets school fees against housing and daily costs.

Compare schools before you shortlist

Provision for able pupils is one factor among curriculum, location and fees. To compare schools side by side, see our ranking of the best international schools in Singapore.

Sources: Ministry of Education Singapore, press releases of 19 August 2024 and 3 March 2026 and Gifted Education Programme pages; GL Assessment, CAT4 product page; Pearson Assessments, WISC-V product page; Dulwich College (Singapore), High Potential Learners pages for Junior and Senior School; Tanglin Trust School, Personalised Learning, Sixth Form curriculum, admissions FAQs and 2026-27 fees pages; Dover Court International School, supportive education and entry requirements pages.

More guides to schools in Singapore

Frequently asked questions

When does Singapore's GEP end?

MOE says the Gifted Education Programme stops admitting new Primary 4 pupils from 2027 and existing classes continue until 2028, when the last batch finishes Primary 6. Primary 3 pupils in 2026 sit the new one-stage identification exercise in August 2026, and pupils who qualify join school-based provision or weekly advanced modules at 15 designated primary schools.

Does my child need an IQ test to join a gifted programme?

Usually not. Most international schools combine a reasoning test such as CAT4 with classroom attainment and teacher observation. A full assessment such as the WISC-V, which covers ages 6 to 16 and is given by a qualified psychologist, is more useful when a child seems very able but also struggles, for example with dyslexia or attention.

Are gifted programmes included in international school fees?

Classroom extension, setting and most clubs are normally part of the fee, but external competitions, residential trips, extra exam entries and private psychological assessments are often billed separately. Ask for the extras list in writing. At Tanglin Trust School, for example, the 2026-27 Years 3 to 6 fee is S$47,490 a year including GST.