What is the OC (Opportunity Class) Examination?

(1) Background

The needs of gifted and talented students for a more intellectually stimulating education were first acknowledged with the formation of opportunity classes in 1932. Gifted students need support in order to develop their full potential and opportunities should be provided to them so that they are able to learn together in the appropriate environment at school.

Opportunity Classes were first formed to prepare gifted upper primary students for pathways into secondary and eventually tertiary education. Nowadays, these classes cater for the needs of academically gifted and talented students in Years 5 and 6. These children benefit from Opportunity Classes by way of access to a challenging curriculum and the chance to interact with students of similar ability and maturity as themselves.

There are approximately 114 Opportunity Classes in 72 primary schools across the state of New South Wales. Placements in the State's Opportunity Classes are highly prized. Understandably, parents want to maximise their child's success, and they will reasonably attempt to provide whatever opportunities they can.

However, I can not stress enough the nature of the candidature in Opportunity Classes. The competitive nature of placement in OC ensures that only the most gifted and talented students in the State will be successful. This in no way means that your child is not bright, but simply not bright enough to compete with peers that are more academically capable. It just means that their needs are different and that they would be able to flourish better in the normal classroom environment. Only a very small percentage of students are successful in gaining placement each year. Be careful not to place any undue pressure on your child as this could damage their academic development.