My DYS DD could not read until she was 8. She was not interested in reading and I didn't push it. Once she became interested, she was off and running. She was reading Lord of the Rings by 10. This kiddo qualified based on her VCI (which was well above the cutoff, and so was her reading comprehension score on the achievement test).
All the kids are different. Don't worry what's typical for other kids. I would say go with your gut. You sense the IQ score is not matching what you see. I would give the gifted school a shot and see how it goes.
