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Ds2 attended CTYI when he was in primary, he is bright but I wouldn't consider him gifted. He was bored in the later years of primary and that's why he went. The courses do vary in terms of quality. Some are better than others.
We didn't bother in secondary as he didn't need it at that stage.

[quote="apache"]I don't think its suited to every child and I don't think that a high STEN score is the appropriate criteria for automatic referral. Gifted kids have significant challenges that the euro typical population don't and many very smart kids don't need an additional outlet in order to feel fulfilled.[/quote]
I agree.
The courses offered are interesting, but depending on exactly how high they score in terms of ability, they may not be as challenging as needed.
And, it’s worth keeping in mind that not every bright or gifted child needs one of these courses to be stimulated, and if a child is doing fine at school, is well challenged either in school or via other channels, then the child might be better served with other extra curricular options. E.g. sports.

Schools may just be making you aware of your options. You can make further enquiries if you like. Don't feel pressurised to put her forward for their assessment. DS woyld have scored very poorly in his Standardised English test a few years back because he has Dyslexia. His assessment for dyslexia at the time showed up a high IQ. One of the recommendations on his report was CTYI. Once they received a copy of his Educ. Report and it met with the criteria for entry we enrolled him and he is starting his 3rd year with them at the end of this month. Our reasons were to give him a boost of confidence. It has worked and he loves it there.

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It really depends on the child. My oldest absolutely thrives there - she's found her tribe, so to speak. My second cannot understand why anyone would volunteer for "extra school", although he'd also qualify.

That’s exactly what happened to me. I checked out of school before going back at night to qualify.

Should also say my husband is an engineer too. A consultant one. He was very bad in school and we look back now and realised he was bored out of his skull. He went to college for 13 years at night then

Oh right ok. I don’t think the school see her as lazy though. Just me when she’s doing her homework. She tends to get distracted whereas the other two just did their own thing. Maybe I should speak to her teacher. I know she is good at projects.

Angel, she might not be stretching herself because she's bored. That is what happened with DS1, he gave up on school and it was only when we had him assessed that we realised exactly how bored he was. We knew he was smart but not to the extent that CTYI has uncovered. He's a different child since he went and the school understand him more as a result and give him differentiated work too. Maybe try one course and see how she gets on, it's very different to school so it's not like taking on extra work. My started at 6 and he has studied everything from experimental physics to medicine to drone technology. He's starting engineering and neuroscience next week.

Yes I think that’s where I’m at. I think my kids are bright. Certainly the 2 oldest in secondary would do very well academically but I don’t think they are gifted. The younger one who got the form back is probably the brightest of the 3 but she is also the laziest out of the 3 so I worry more about her. She’s not looking for an extra work at the moment that’s for sure! I don’t think she is particularly gifted either

My eldest goes because he's not challenged in school. I've seen the difference in him when he goes and he definitely needs it. He has also benefitted from socialising with other kids like him but he has tested in a very high percentile. I don't think its suited to every child and I don't think that a high STEN score is the appropriate criteria for automatic referral. Gifted kids have significant challenges that the euro typical population don't and many very smart kids don't need an additional outlet in order to feel fulfilled.

My second child, for example, is very smart but I know that he wouldn't get anything extra from CTYI as he is happy to motor along with his peers.

We got one aswell and it said they would offer aid. I said no straight out because I know more about it than dh and also she does a good bit outside of school. Obviously we are still at the stage where we could change our mind but can anyone tell me is it really worth taking up? I ask because she’s my 3rd and has had high sten before and this wasn’t offered. I have 2 others who went through primary and while I can’t remember every score they ever got I know they both got 10s at some point but again this wasn’t offered. The principal has changed so I’m not sure if that’s why.

They still offer financial assistance.

[quote="molls"]No idea why you would go anon for this!

The assessment fee is about €40. While courses are expensive they do offer some financial aid to low income families.[/quote]

They could offer financial assistance a few years ago, not sure if it has changed. I think they can offer discounts of up to 50% to children who need it. I rang about some children I had in my class to enquire about financial aid.

The school don’t pay. From my experience, they send the forms home with children who have done well in their Sten tests, and also in secondary school if they are above average in their exams. It’s up to the parents then to decide if they want to apply or not. We didn’t because, aside from the expense, the weekly travel wasn’t feasible.

No idea why you would go anon for this!

The assessment fee is about €40. While courses are expensive they do offer some financial aid to low income families.