'Gifted and Talented': a label too far?

Gifted and talented' has become the official way of referring to highachieving, able school pupils. The author questions the validity and appropriateness of this label and calls for a more sophisticated and inclusive framework. The notion of a child being 'gifted and talented', popularised in recent years in Government policy and the resulting discourse and practice of teachers and others, can be seen as one manifestation amongst many of a harmful obsession with categorising and labelling children according to socially and culturally determined concepts Yet the idea that such pupils exist, together with a search for clarity about the kind of curriculum and teaching which might be appropriate for them, has long been claimed, often as part of professional and parental efforts to enhance their educational provision.