Originally published 23 March 2004

Today, Tuesday 23rd March 2004, the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth at the University of Warwick will announce the names of a select group of 18 “Ambassador Schools” selected to be a national showcase of best practice in the education of gifted and talented young people.

Representatives from the schools will be presented with a plaque for their school to mark their “Ambassador School” status at 1pm on Tuesday 23rd March at the University of Warwick’s Senate House building. Each of the Ambassador Schools will be given £5000 by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. This is to be spent in ways that support the spread of best practice in the teaching of gifted and talented young people, both amongst their own teaching staff and the staff of other schools and colleges.

Each Ambassador School will be expected to provide at least three training events during the first year, to meet the needs of local teachers. They will also contribute to the Academy website and have a gifted and talented section on their own school website. The 18 schools to win Ambassador status are:

BEVERLEY HIGH SCHOOL – Norwood, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire

BIRCHWOOD COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL – Brock Road, Birchwood, Warrington

CANON SLADE SCHOOL – Bradshaw Brow, Bolton

COLYTON GRAMMAR – Whitwell Lane, Colyford, Devon

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE – West Street, Comberton, Cambridge

COUNDON COURT SCHOOL – Northbrook Road, Coventry

DOWDALES SCHOOL – Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria

FARLINGAYE HIGH SCHOOL – Ransom Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk

GOSFORTH HIGH SCHOOL – Knightsbridge, Great North Road, Gosforth

HABERGHAM HIGH SCHOOL – Byron Street, Burnley

HAYBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL – Brake Lane, Hagley, Stourbridge

HILLS ROAD SIXTH FORM COLLEGE – Cambridge

NEWSTEAD WOOD SCHOOL – Avebury Road, Orpington, Kent

NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL FOR BOYS – Billing Road, Northampton

NUNTHORPE SCHOOL – Guisborough Road, Nunthorpe, Middlesborough

PENAIR SCHOOL - St. Clement, Truro, Cornwall

SANDBACH HIGH SCHOOL – Middlewich Road, Sandbach, Cheshire

ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS HIGH SCHOOL – Tulse Hill, London

Press Opportunity: There will be an opportunity to speak to representatives from the schools and photograph them with their plaques on Tuesday 23rd March. Press should come to the reception of the Senate House building just before 1pm and ask for Peter Dunn.