For many rural and remote students, one of the major barriers towards furthering their education is access to programs catering to high achievers.

Now, as we continue into the digital age, students are being granted opportunities traditionally only accessible to those in metropolitan and boarding schools.

Aurora College has been a big part of this shift, offering academically gifted students in rural and remote NSW the same opportunities as their counterparts in the big smoke, linking them via online classrooms.

The college is a virtual selective school that began back in 2015 and now involves students based at over four hundred public schools across the state.

The Aboriginal High Potential and Gifted Students Initiative is the latest addition to Aurora.

"Our school hosts 730 students from across the state, so we were very excited to be given the opportunity to begin this initiative," said Aurora College Principal, Chris Robertson.

"It's a five-year pilot program, we were approached back in 2021 by the Department of Education to design a program for high potential and high achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students."

"The Department is working towards closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous students."

The program is available to students from Year Six to provide them with the opportunities to further their learning and bridging the gap between primary and secondary education.

Kobie (right) is one of the students successful in gaining entry into the Aurora College. IMAGE: Aurora College

The first cohort of students began in Term Four in 2022, including students from Condobolin and Coonamble Public Schools.

"Students in Year Six have Maths, Science, and Technology classes, and we'll help support them through that transition to high school," said Mr Robertson.

"Being a pilot program, the entry is different to our other programs, the students were invited to apply based on their NAPLAN results and their check-in assessments."

"We have fifty students at the moment from forty-five schools, and I have every confidence this is only going to grow as we continue."

"The model is mostly the same, but parts of the curriculum are different in the sense that we're catering to the emotional and cultural needs of the student," said Mr Robertson.

"We're ensuring they stay on country while doing the program, and maintain those connections to their community."

"The opportunity to build networks with other high achieving and high potential indigenous students is also there."