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Highly able children

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One of Mensa’s core aims is to ‘identify and foster human intelligence’. With
that in mind, the board of British Mensa appointed a Gifted Child Consultant
and established the Mensa Gifted and Talented Support Programmes, to
assist educators in their work with highly able young people and to support
young members and their families.
British Mensa has about 2,000 members under the age of 18. They are full
members of the society, and are offered the same range of benefits as adult
members – magazines and newsletters, Special Interest Groups and social
events. They are encouraged to join their own group – Junior & Teen – and
take part in Family Mensa events arranged across the country.
In addition, our Gifted Child Consultant Lyn Kendall works with Mensa to
create support programmes and events for people living and working with
gifted children.
To watch the ITV Central News series Bright Sparks, which examined some of
the issues around being and bringing up gifted children, click here
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=4zudXZEXRTo&list=PLFXSE3NhAYiaT46nLcfx5xor091X4vQEG).2,
Ways to identify highly able
children
A highly able or ‘gifted’ child is normally identified as having a cognitive ability or IQ
in the top 5% of the population. They may display some or many of the following
behaviours:

 An unusual memory
 Passing intellectual milestones early
 Reading early
 Unusual hobbies or interests or an in-depth knowledge of certain subjects
 Intolerance of other children
 An awareness of world events
 Set themselves impossibly high standards
 May be a high achiever
 Prefers to spend time with adults or in solitary pursuits
 Loves to talk
 Asks questions all the time
 Learns easily
 Developed sense of humour
 Musical
 Likes to be in control
 Makes up additional rules for games
 May be either an extrovert or introvert
Mensa Youth Membership
To qualify for membership of Mensa, children aged over 10 and a half can sit
our Supervised IQ test. Younger children need to be assessed by an
educational psychologist to find out their IQ score, which can then be
submitted via a Prior Evidence application.

Find out more about IQ testing

(https://mensa.org.uk/test-your-iq/)

Support for highly able

children
Our Gifted Child Consultant, Lyn Kendall, works with Mensa to create support
programmes and events for people living and working with highly able
children. Her services include conducting one-to-one consultations, running
workshops and summer schools for gifted children, and creating teaching
materials for Gifted and Talented Coordinators. She has advised the DfE and
local education authorities on their policies and has long worked with gifted
children organisations.
Lyn, who is also a member of Mensa, has over 40 years’ experience working
with children of all ages and intellects, focusing mainly on the fields of Special
Educational Needs and Gifted and Talented Education. She holds a master’s
degree in Special Needs and Inclusion, and is a qualified psychologist, a
member of the British Psychological Society and a CBT practitioner.
Lyn provides advice and support for parents and professionals alike, as well
as undertaking media work for programmes like Victoria Derbyshire and This
Morning. She appeared regularly on Channel 4’s hit TV show Child Genius,
where she collaborated with the production team behind the scenes as well
as being a panellist.

 Contact Lyn
(mailto:communications@mensa.org.uk)

Potential Plus UK
We work very closely with Potential Plus UK to represent the interests of
children with high learning potential and to advocate for them on a wider
stage.
The parents and carers of our members aged 18 and under are also eligible
for free associate membership of Potential Plus, giving them access to an
even wider range of events and resources. For more information,
visit: www.potentialplusuk.org (http://www.potentialplusuk.org/)

Helping teenagers to aim high

Every year, we host the Young Mensans’ Future Paths conference
(https://mensa.org.uk/young-mensans-future-paths-conference), which aims
to demystify the process of applying to and studying at Oxford or Cambridge
universities. As well as the chance to talk directly to admissions tutors from
both universities, the event includes inspirational speakers and the chance to
look round one of the historic colleges.
 Subscribe to the Mensa Newsletter
Receive the latest news from Mensa, notifications about events, puzzles to
challenge you, and much more by signing up to our weekly email.

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