Good point Val, re rejecting the school based on a possibly off-the-cuff remark. We'd 99% decided on the other school though, which really promotes maths skills (in both girls and boys) and also focuses on problem solving and lateral thinking. It also celebrates the whole "maths geek" student which will suit her, I think, as she is quite popular but only has one or two close friends. The gifted school has a reputation for great academic results, but not much else, and actually doesn't really do any better than our preferred choice. I'm just worried about the next few years of junior school, as our preferred school seems to have a low key approach to differentiation and I don't want to have to be *that* mother (but I will!)
Back to the topic:; my personal feeling (based on only two DDs with different talents) is that kids who are very good at maths are harder to extend without additional, more formal, extension work. My DD who is good at literacy based tasks has been reasonably happy being asked to write in more detail and in greater depth, plus she's always reading at home, whereas it's much easier to hit the ceiling of the year's maths tasks. So, maybe the math kids are entering the G and T programs in greater numbers than the ones who have literacy skills?
I'm not convinced that girls are inherently less mathy than boys but maybe this is more likely to be socialised out of them?
