NSW Inspire Program: Gifted Education Now in Every Public School

From the start of the 2026 school year, every NSW public school offers programs for high potential and gifted students under a single banner called Inspire — which means selective high schools and Opportunity Classes are no longer the only public pathways for a gifted child.

Announced on 2 March 2026, the Inspire program is the biggest structural change to gifted education in NSW public schools in years, and it landed with far less attention than the selective test cycle. For the many families who have just received a Year 7 selective outcome, or who are waiting on Opportunity Class outcomes on 9 September 2026, it is the piece of context most likely to change how you think about the next twelve months.

What Inspire Actually Is

Inspire is not a new school type and not a new test. It is a statewide framework that brings every school's high potential and gifted education (HPGE) offerings together and requires schools to publish them where parents can find them.

• Every NSW public school offers HPGE programs from the beginning of the 2026 school year
• Offerings are published under one banner on school websites, so you can compare what schools actually provide
• An updated school-finder lets schools proactively share the availability of places with their local community
• Statewide teacher professional development in gifted education was delivered through 2025 to support the rollout
• The scope is broad — academics, the arts, leadership and sport, not academic acceleration alone

The Three Concrete Things Behind the Banner

1. $100 million for 33 HPGE Partner Schools

The NSW Government is investing $100 million in purpose-built learning facilities across 33 high schools designated as HPGE Partner Schools. Eight of those schools had completed their upgrades by the start of the 2026 school year, with the remainder progressing.

2. New extension classes in comprehensive high schools

Eight comprehensive public high schools launched extension classes in 2026: Chifley College Dunheved Campus, Kooringal, Hunters Hill, Lisarow, Elderslie, Georges River College Peakhurst Campus, Port Hacking and Riverstone. This is the closest thing to a selective-style academic stream inside a local comprehensive school.

3. Eleven advanced and extension HSC courses, everywhere

Students in every NSW public high school gain access to 11 advanced and extension HSC courses — some of the most demanding subjects in the state — regardless of where they live. Historically, access to these courses depended heavily on whether a particular school could staff them.

What This Means If Your Child Missed Out

Around one in eight applicants gains an Opportunity Class place and roughly one in four gains a selective high school place. That leaves a very large number of genuinely high-potential students in their local school every year — and until now, "what happens to them" was an uncomfortable question with an inconsistent answer.

Inspire is the Department's answer. The practical implication for you is that the local school is now a question worth asking properly, rather than a fallback you assume is weaker:

1. Open your local high school's website and find its HPGE or Inspire page. Because offerings now sit under a common banner, this page exists and is meant to be findable.
2. Ask the school three specific questions: Is there an extension or enrichment class in the year group we are entering? How are students identified for it? Which advanced and extension HSC courses do you actually run?
3. Check whether the school is an HPGE Partner School — that carries dedicated facilities investment.
4. Compare honestly against a long commute. A strong extension stream twenty minutes away can beat a selective place ninety minutes away, particularly for a Year 5 or Year 7 child.

Does Inspire Change Whether You Should Sit the Test?

No — and it is worth being clear about that. Inspire does not alter the selective high school or Opportunity Class placement process. Applications still open in early November and close in February, the placement test is still held in early May, and placement is still decided on test performance, now within the gender parity model and the Equity Placement Model.

What changes is the cost of not getting in. Sitting the test used to feel like a single gate with a hard edge. It is now better understood as one of several routes to a challenging education — which is a healthier way for a nine-year-old or an eleven-year-old to hold it, and a healthier way for a parent to hold it too.

So: prepare properly, sit the test, and research your local school's Inspire offering in parallel. Those are complementary tasks, not competing ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a test or application for Inspire?

No. Inspire is delivered within schools. Identification for specific extension or enrichment classes is decided by each school, so ask the school how it selects students.

Does Inspire replace selective high schools or Opportunity Classes?

No. Both continue exactly as before, with the same application and placement test process.

How do I find out what my local school offers?

Check the school's website, where HPGE offerings are now published under the Inspire banner, and the Department's school-finder. Then confirm directly with the school.

Is Inspire only for academically gifted students?

No. The framework covers academics, the arts, leadership and sport.

My child is in primary school. Does Inspire apply?

Yes — every NSW public school, primary and secondary, offers HPGE programs. The extension classes and HSC course commitments described above are secondary-specific.

Is this available in rural and regional NSW?

The commitment is statewide, and the access to 11 advanced and extension HSC courses is explicitly framed as applying regardless of where a student lives. Aurora College remains the virtual selective option for rural and regional students.

Where to Verify the Official Details

• The high potential and gifted education section at education.nsw.gov.au
• Your local school's website HPGE or Inspire page
• The NSW Department of Education school-finder

Prepare for the Test, Keep Your Options Open

Inspire widens the map, but the selective and OC placement test still decides who enters those specific programs. Start with a free AcePath sample quiz to see where your child stands in Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills, then build a steady routine with our OC and Selective practice test packs.