{"id":37003,"date":"2022-05-24T12:58:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T11:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?p=37003"},"modified":"2022-05-24T16:29:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:29:13","slug":"55-years-on-where-did-it-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/","title":{"rendered":"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Many of you will be surprised to learn that Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”31020″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]It all started back in 1965 when Margaret Branch, a psychiatric social worker in Guys Hospital, London, recognised that there was a lack of information and support for children, who often have similar difficulties to those with special educational needs. These children were described as having exceptional \u2018intelligence and\/or creative capacity\u2019.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Two years later her work to improve support for these young people led to the formal constitution of our charity,\u00a0The National Association for Gifted Children.<\/strong> The signatories on our founding document include lecturers, teachers, head teachers, housewives, musicians, child psychiatrists, engineers, bankers, architects, an MP, a Peer of the Realm, newspaper publisher David Astor, zoologist and writer Gerald Durrell, and of course Margaret Branch herself.<\/p>\n

From our extensive archives we know that the choice of the description \u2018gifted\u2019 was discussed almost from the first meeting and that this debate has continued through the decades. This led to the charity, at its AGM in 2012, agreeing to work under the name of Potential Plus UK.<\/p>\n

With a proliferation of terms and descriptors currently being used in schools, including \u2018gifted and talented\u2019, \u2018more\/most able\u2019, \u2018highly able\u2019, \u2018high prior attainers\u2019, \u2018working at greater depth\u2019 and \u2018working beyond age-related expectations\u2019, we are often asked why we prefer the term \u2018high learning potential\u2019. We believe that it helps the young person to understand that they have the potential to attain well academically and\/or creatively, but that there is need for more than this – a \u2018plus\u2019. They need opportunities, motivation, and to develop resilience. They need to be challenged, to be confident in not always knowing the \u2018right\u2019 answer, and to learn to think divergently, creatively and critically. They need to understand their strengths and any educational or wellbeing barriers to their learning, so that they can seek out strategies to help them. They need to develop all these essential skills alongside their subject strengths, so that they can go out into the world as confident young people.<\/p>\n

As parents, carers, teachers and other professionals, our aim is to support our young people in their endeavours.The following poem, by an anonymous 13-year-old member, appeared in the NAGC Journal of the Gifted Child, Winter 1980.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

The Wall<\/h3>\n

They laughed at me.<\/em>
\nThey laughed at me and called me names,<\/em>
\nThey wouldn\u2019t let me join their games.<\/em>
\nI couldn\u2019t understand.<\/em>
\nI spent most playtimes on my own,<\/em>
\nEverywhere I was alone,<\/em>
\nI couldn\u2019t understand.<\/em><\/p>\n

Teachers told me I was rude,<\/em>
\nBumptious, overbearing, shrewd,<\/em>
\nSome of the things they said were crude.<\/em>
\nI couldn\u2019t understand.<\/em>
\nAnd so I built myself a wall,<\/em>
\nStrong and solid, ten foot tall,<\/em>
\nWith bricks you couldn\u2019t see at all,<\/em>
\nSo I could understand.<\/em><\/p>\n

And then came Sir,<\/em>
\nA jovial, beaming, kindly man,<\/em>
\nSaw through my wall and took my hand,<\/em>
\nAnd the bricks came tumbling down,<\/em>
\nFor he could understand.<\/em><\/p>\n

And now I laugh with them,<\/em>
\nNot in any unkind way,<\/em>
\nFor they have yet to face their day,<\/em>
\nAnd the lessons I have learned.<\/em>
\nFor eagles soar above all birds,<\/em>
\nAnd scavengers need to hunt in herds,<\/em>
\nBut the lion walks alone,<\/em>
\nAnd now I understand.<\/em><\/p>\n

Discover, Nurture, Succeed<\/span><\/h3>\n

Potential Plus UK\u2019s mission is to discover young people\u2019s potential, nurture their gifts and talents, and support them to succeed and thrive with confidence.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36959″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Many of you will be surprised to learn that Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”31020″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002852,"featured_media":37006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196,40],"tags":[676,45,42],"class_list":["post-37003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-focus","category-high-learning-potential","tag-55-years","tag-gifted","tag-high-learning-potential"],"yoast_head":"\n55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-24T11:58:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-24T15:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/\",\"name\":\"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-24T11:58:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-24T15:29:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ecce1080686454d3bce4ec5c156d3f3f\"},\"description\":\"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Girl standing in front of a sheet of paper writing I'm not weird\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/\",\"name\":\"Potential Plus UK\",\"description\":\"Discover, Nurture, Succeed\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ecce1080686454d3bce4ec5c156d3f3f\",\"name\":\"Potential Plus UK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/796410bbea985d6eb7166c523440c1d73793ca41646ade29ed61e2122b41b5b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/796410bbea985d6eb7166c523440c1d73793ca41646ade29ed61e2122b41b5b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Potential Plus UK\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/author\/ppadminppuk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK","description":"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK","og_description":"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.","og_url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/","og_site_name":"Potential Plus UK","article_published_time":"2022-05-24T11:58:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-24T15:29:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Potential Plus UK","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Potential Plus UK","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/","name":"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin? - Potential Plus UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg","datePublished":"2022-05-24T11:58:20+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-24T15:29:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ecce1080686454d3bce4ec5c156d3f3f"},"description":"Potential Plus UK has been supporting young people for 55 years. Our charity, originally called The National Association for Gifted Children, was set up to improve information and support for children of high ability.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-cottonbro-7395914_960.jpg","width":960,"height":640,"caption":"Girl standing in front of a sheet of paper writing I'm not weird"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2022\/05\/24\/55-years-on-where-did-it-begin\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"55 Years On \u2013 Where Did It Begin?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/","name":"Potential Plus UK","description":"Discover, Nurture, Succeed","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ecce1080686454d3bce4ec5c156d3f3f","name":"Potential Plus UK","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/796410bbea985d6eb7166c523440c1d73793ca41646ade29ed61e2122b41b5b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/796410bbea985d6eb7166c523440c1d73793ca41646ade29ed61e2122b41b5b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Potential Plus UK"},"url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/author\/ppadminppuk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002852"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}