Gifted and talented support

One of Mensa's core aims is to 'identify and foster human intelligence'. With that in mind, the Board of Mensa appointed a Gifted Child Consultant and established the Mensa Gifted and Talented Support Programmes, to assist educators in their work with gifted young people and to support young members and their families.

Mensa has several hundred gifted children among the membership. Young members of Mensa are entitled to the same membership benefits as adults - magazines and newsletters, special interest groups and social events. There are also some opportunities to interact with other young members at events such as the Annual Gathering, and young members are encouraged to participate in the newsletters created especially for them.

Identifying Gifted Children

Mensa's G&T Advice Leaflet offers information and advice about gifted children, as well as details of other organisations who can help, and further reading on the subject.

Check out our special Gifted and Talented News features such as Gifted Children - a checklist for parents

The Mensa Supervised IQ Test is suitable for children aged over ten and a half years. Younger children should be assessed by an educational psychologist to find out their IQ score - your local health authority or education authority can help you to find professionals in your area.

Mensa Gifted and Talented News >

Support for Gifted Children

Teacher support packs have been developed by Mensa's Gifted Child Consultant, Lyn Kendall (née Allcock), who was appointed to the voluntary Mensa post in June 2004 and is a highly experienced G&T teacher from Coventry. She has previously organised gifted and talented summer schools, advised the DfEE and local education authorities on their policies and has long worked with gifted children organisations such as CHI and MFGC.

Lyn says: "As a teacher working with gifted and talented students I realised that there is a gap in the provision of support for colleagues. There are many good books and online resources, but developing lessons is time consuming. All of us working with gifted young people want to present them with varied and interesting challenges, but nobody seemed to be offering ready-made lesson plans - until now."

"The sessions in the Mensa Gifted and Talented Programmes have been tried and tested by colleagues in schools and initial feedback tells us our genuine attempt to support this important work in other schools is very much appreciated."