England’s million brightest pupils will be targeted by a new champion for gifted and talented children, under plans to ensure that the most able youngsters make it to university regardless of their social background.

The first priority for John Stannard, a former director of the National Literacy Strategy, will be to target the 300 secondary schools that up until now have refused to take part in the government’s gifted and talented (G&T) programme – often because of ideological opposition to selection.

Mr Stannard’s appointment, made under the personal direction of Gordon Brown, is part of a drive to extend massively the reach of the G&T programme by raising the proportion of children selected in each school from 5 to about 10 per cent.

The move reflects government disappointment at progress in the scheme, set up in 1999 amid concerns that middle-class parents were abandoning the state sector for private schools because comprehensives were failing to nurture the most able.

Latest figures show that a significant minority of schools - 9 per cent of secondaries and 35 per cent of primaries - have still failed to identify any G&T children, leaving the number benefiting from the extra tuition offered under the programme stuck at 733,000.

The Prime Minister is determined that all schools should take part to bring students numbers up to one million of Britain’s eight million state school population.

Mr Stannard told The Times that his appointment should send out an important message that state schools would make every effort to cater for the needs of the brightest pupils.

“There is a purpose in reassuring middle-class parents that goes beyond the intrinsic value of doing so.

“If you keep depleting the state sector of the more able students then that depletes the sector right across the board. It means that schools that do well have a much greater struggle to do so. With a wider range of pupils, you have a greater pool of ability for raising aspirations,” he said.

Mr Stannard is keen to ensure that bright pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds benefit from the programme. Previous research has suggested that most participants come from better-off families who can afford fees and fares to the extra tuition offered under the programme.

He also wants to ensure that those who may be regarded by teachers as underachievers or even troublemakers are picked up by the scheme.

Current government criteria for identifying G&T children states that they may “not necessarily be well behaved”, that they may “be bored by routine tasks” and may “appear arrogant or socially inept”.

“Kids who are very bored can be very stroppy because they do not have enough to do and they are not catered for by their school. They may not be recognised as gifted, particularly in areas of social disadvantage,” he said.

The criteria for identifying children for the programme will include teacher assessments and diagnostic tests as well as national Key Stage tests that children sit at the ages of 7, 11 and 14. The scheme applies to children who are academically gifted or who have a talent in the arts or sport.

The scheme will apply to children as young as 4. They will qualify for summer schools at universities, as well as extra online tuition, Saturday morning masterclasses and activities with bright children from other schools.

Lord Adonis, the Schools Secretary, emphasised that there was no hard and fast criteria for identifying G&T children and said that it would be left to individual schools to decide precisely how many children to identify.

However, he said that secondary schools should pay particular attention to the Key Stage 2 results attained by children in the last year of primary school.

He denied that this would put extra pressure on primary school children, effectively making tests at primary school a university entrance exam.

“It is vital we do more to support able pupils in state schools, particularly those schools which currently have low numbers going to university,” he said.

Bright sparks

Children may:

— be good readers
— be very articulate
— give quick verbal responses
— be generally knowledgable
— learn quickly
— be interested in “older” topics
— communicate well with adults
— problem-solve unusually
— be self-taught in their own interests
— have a good memory
— excel at art, music or sport
— have strong views
— have a lively and original imagination/sense of humour
— be very sensitive and aware
— be arrogant/socially inept
— be easily bored by routine
— not necessarily be well behaved or well liked

Gifted and talented underachievers may:

— have low self-esteem
— be confused about their development
— assume a superior attitude
— find inadequacy in others, in things, in systems, to excuse their own behaviour

Source: Ofsted review of research by Joan Freeman

Times recommends

• Students abandon the drink for gyms and juice
• Ofsted: third of Baby P-style reviews inadequate
• Top boys' school picks first woman head