‘Science is not my thing'

In recent years there has been much interest expressed in the identification and teaching of highly able pupils in English schools. Research findings in England (DfES, 2002), however, indicated that children with high ability do not always attain highly. In the U.S.A., Archambault et al. (1993) found that instruction in the regular classroom was generally not tailored to meet the unique needs of gifted pupils. Within the context of primary science education underachievement is often linked to lack of appropriate challenge (OFSTED, 1996, 2001).