We just moved DS9 into a GT program within a "normal" school. There are ~60 gifted kids in a school of ~500. In theory they mix at lunch and recess but from what I can tell DS seems to mostly stick with his friends from class (although maybe others mix more, hard to say). They are the kids that he has stuff in common with.
TBH one of the best things that have come out of this is that DS is no longer "the smart kid" and he is now surrounded by lots of smart kids. We haven't seen any "hothouse" behaviour (although DS would probably be oblivious to it even if there was). DS knows most of the world is not gifted but he was having a really hard time in a regular class where no one else shared his interest or enthusiasm for diving deep into topics. He dealt with this by basically shutting down and not talking at all in class. The teachers were only focused on his LD and constantly being frustrated that he wasn't particularly interested in writing 22+34 in pictures, numbers and words. He refused to do work and was a grumpy disaster who complained bitterly about having to do baby stuff. As far as thinking he was "better", he had already come to that conclusion before we moved him, putting him in a room full of other gifted kids has been the best cure for that
I will say our GT program is not about marks or tests. They strive to keep their drive and love of learning alive. Obviously GT programs and classmates vary hugely so YMMV.
DS still plays sports and is in Cubs. We have family friends and the kids on the block that he plays with. He's always gravitated towards other smart kids even in those activities and at his old school. I figure he doesn't need 6.5 hours a day for 12 years of real world exposure and frustration to be able to function with whoever he needs to when needed.
DD7 isn't having as rough of a time in her normal class but I suspect we will move her as well. With DS we really had no choice, school was a disaster and something had to change. Now that we've seen the program in action we're sold.
