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GGHS is committed to promoting high achievement and excellence for its students. The EXCEL program exists to support and extend those students with high intellectual potentialin Years 7-12 who have the capacity to excel academically.  It aims to:  

  • Foster the formation of supportive friendships among able students, by providing the opportunity for them to find each other and to participate in activities together
  • Challenge able students to extend themselves academically, by participating in intellectually challenging activities that promote critical and creative thinking, such as those listed below
  • Allow students from Year 9 to complete the Year 11 subject: SACE Stage 1 Integrated Learning: Academic Extension for one Semester (10 SACE Credits) or two Semesters (20 SACE Credits)
  • Allow students from Year 10, who have completed the SACE Stage 1 subject above to complete the Year 12 subject: SACE Stage 2 Integrated Learning: Academic Extension (20 SACE Credits)
  • Motivate high-achieving students to continue to do their best at school, since continued participation in the programme is dependent on students continuing to attain good grades.

How do students qualify to join EXCEL?

All students with high academic potential may enrol in Academic Extension subjects. You may enol if you have any of the following achievements:

  • Attained high academic results: a Grade Point Average (GPA) over 6
  • Attained an Academic Distinction or Academic Commended Award at a School Assembly
  • Attained a Credit Grade or higher in any individual state/national academic competition
  • Been nominated by a teacher
  • Shown the EXCEL Leader a letter of recommendation from a past/present teacher
  • A psychologist's report showing high intellectual potential in any field

What extension and enrichment activities are offered?

Critical and Creative Thinking:
 Big Science Competition (Y7-10)
 Biology Olympiad (Y10/11)
 Brain Bee Challenge: Neuroscience (Y10)
 Chemistry Olympiad (Y10/11)
 Debating Training
 Debating SA's Interschool Competition
 Debating SA's Adjudicators' Training (11/12)
 Debating SA's Adjudicators' (11/12)
 Education Perfect Science Championship
 Earth and Environmental Science Olympiad (Y10/11)
 GTCASA Gifted Students' Saturday Club Workshops
 ICAS Reach Science Assessment (7-10)
 ICAS Science Competition
 Junior Science Olympiad (Y7-10)
 Middle Years Ability Test (Non-verbal Ability)
 National Youth Science Forum (Y11)
 One+ Science Investigation Award (Team)
 Spring Poetry Cover Art Competition
 Tournament of Minds (Team) (Year 7-10)
 Tournament of Minds Judges’ Training (Y11/12)
 Try Engineering
 World Scholars’ Cup (Team)

Ethical Understanding:
 Crash Course Philosophy
 Ethics Olympiad (Y7-12)
 GTCASA Ethics Workshops
 Philosothon (Y8-12)
 SAPEA Community of Inquiry Days

ICT Capability:
 Australian Informatics Olympiad
 Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge (Team)
 Computational & Algorithmic Thinking Competition
 ICAS Digital Technologies Competition (Y7-10)
 ICAS Reach Digital Technologies Assessment (Y7-10)
 Oxford University Computing Challenge

Intercultural Understanding:
 Australian Geography Competition
 Australian History Competition (Y7-10)
 Aust. Refugee Association Ambassador (Y10/11)
 Computational Linguistics Olympiad (Team)
 Education Perfect Humanities Championship
 Education Perfect Japanese Championship
 Education Perfect Spanish Championship
 Evatt Diplomacy Competition (Team) (Y9-12)
 Governor's Civics Awards
 Premier's ANZAC Spirit School Prize
 Reconciliation SA: Generation of Change
 UN Youth SA's Student Ambassadors Program
 UN Youth's Voice Public Speaking Competition
 UN Youth SA's Forums
 UN Youth SA's State Conference Camp (Y9-12)

Literacy:
 Eden School Prize: Essay-writing (Y10)
 Education Perfect English Championship
 Flinders University Young Playwrights’ Award
 ICAS Reach English Assessment (Y7-10)
 ICAS Reach Grammar & Punctuation Assessment
 ICAS Reach Spelling Assessment (Y7-10)
 ICAS Reach Writing Assessment (Y7-10)
 Middle Years Ability Test (Literacy)
 Premier’s Reading Challenge
 Prime Minister's Spelling Bee (Y7/8)
 SAETA Meet the Writers Festival
 SAETA Spring Poetry Festival
 SAETA Young Writers’ Award
 Spelling Bee
 State Theatre Company Theatre Reviews
 Write a Book in a Day

Numeracy:
 Australian Maths Competition
 Education Perfect Maths Championship
 ICAS Maths Competition
 ICAS Reach Mathematics Assessment (7-10)
 Kangorou Sans Frontières
 MASA Maths Competition
 Middle Years Ability Test (Numeracy)
 AMT Maths Challenge (Team) (Y8-10)
 AMT Maths Enrichment (Y8-10)
 Aust. Intermediate Maths Olympiad (Y8-10)

Personal and Social Capability:
 Adelaide Youth Leadership Conference
 CTTG Giving Back Program
 CTTG Volunteering
 CTTG Youth Leadership Conference
 Debating SA Adjudicator (Year 11/12)
 First Aid Course
 Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award (Age: 12-14)
 Legacy Plain English Speaking Award (Age: 15-17)
 Lions’ Youth of the Year (Y11)
 Public Speaking Training: Impromptu Speeches
 Public Speaking Training: Prepared Speeches
 Rostrum Voice of Youth
 Tournament of Minds Adjudicator
 Tournament of Minds Team Facilitator (Y11/12)
 YMCA Junior Parliament Camp (Age: 12-15)
 YMCA Youth Parliament Camp (Age: 15+)
 Youth Environment Council (Y7-10)