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Gifted Education Programme: Individualised Study Options

The term “Individualised Study Options” (ISO) was introduced in 2003 to replace the “Individualised Research Study” (IRS) as an umbrella term for project work in the GEP.

The IRS has been a cornerstone in the GEP enriched curriculum for many years. It is an independent research project based on pupils' personal interests. It aims to develop pupils’ research skills such as library research skills, data gathering and analysis skills, inquiry skills as well as written, oral and visual communication skills. It offers pupils the opportunity to pursue a self-selected real-life problem like a “practising professional” would.

Pupils do not receive a grade in their report books on their IRS projects. Outstanding projects are showcased in the annual IRS Exhibition cum Presentation. The projects are judged and awards are given for pupils who perform well in the oral presentation segment as well as poster exhibition.

While IRS remains an option for project work, ISO now offers pupils a wide range of alternatives such as Odyssey of the Mind, Future Problem Solving and Innovation Programme with different foci and skills.

ISO in principle adopts the same structure as IRS–a teacher-mentor supervises a small number of pupils and provides constant monitoring and feedback to encourage and help the pupils.

Target Groups

Archives of past IRS and ISO Projects