It may sound like a hothouse for precious youngsters, but a summer school for gifted children shows the reality is far removed from the image. Nick Morrison reports.

JUST inside the college entrance, a noticeboard bears a series of phrases divided into three headings. The statements underneath the heading marked "Fears" may be largely typical of what you would expect from any group of teenagers.

But alongside "Not fitting in" and "Getting lost" there are hints, if you look for them, of what makes this group different: "I won't do as well as I expect of myself", perhaps even "Compulsory sport".

"Before they came we gave them a sheet of paper and asked them to put in their hopes, their fears and what they aim to get out of it," says Geoff Harrison. "We wanted to show them we all have exactly the same fears: of not fitting in, not being clever enough, being away from home, not making friends."

The group is made up of some of the brightest children in the country, on a summer school run by Durham University, in conjunction with the National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth (Nagty). The summer schools are the flagship of Nagty's efforts to support talented children.

"Just as the Government supports children who have trouble reading and writing, it is also important to support those who are very able, who might not be stretched enough at school," says Dr Harrison, site director of the Durham summer school, based at Van Mildert College.

Durham is one of seven universities running the summer schools, and around 150 children, aged 11-16, have spent the last two weeks on the residential course, with subjects ranging from maths and English to anthropology and philosophy, all taught by university staff. The children live in undergraduate accommodation during their stay.

'I came to meet new people and go further in the subject I had chosen, and I wanted to do something rather than just lazing about during the summer holidays," says Jennifer Park, a 14-year-old from Newcastle on the English course.

"I have learned lots about how English works, but I've also got to hear lots of other people's opinions, and I wouldn't have even thought about them before."

Most of the 30,000 children who have signed up as members of Nagty were put forward by their school, but Jennifer applied off her own bat after her elder sister went to one of the first summer schools last year. And for her, being surrounded by other children who feel the same way she does about school work is one of the main attractions.

"At school, you have some people who want to play rather than study, and in school if you are good at stuff and you are top of the class, they think you should get out more," she says.

"Meeting like minded people" comes under the category of "Aims" on the noticeboard, and Rachel Lewis, 15, from Whitley Bay and also on the English course, says it is one of the things she has appreciated most on the summer school.

"It is a different environment because it is people who want to learn. Maybe people think we are all serious if we're coming to summer school, but everyone is interested in being here and working," she says.

Nagty, based at Warwick University, is aimed at children in the top five per cent of their ability range, and as well as the summer schools it also runs online discussion forums, where students can exchange ideas, one-day seminars and a newsletter, as well as online homework clubs and academic support.

"It is not that schools aren't giving this kind of support, but it is often difficult to build that into a teaching day to be able to really stretch the kids," says Dr Harrison. "So this is an opportunity to come into a university environment where they are going to be stretched.

"And people have said talent will out, but that is not necessarily the case. Talent can easily be suppressed if it is not encouraged."

According to Nagty, one of the main reasons why gifted children sometimes underachieve is the stigma which can attach to being clever. For some young people, it is not cool to be bright, and the result is they disguise their ability in order not to stand out from the crowd.

Igor Petrovich, on the maths course, didn't tell many of his friends about the summer school. The 15-year-old, from Newcastle, says: "Some of my friends don't know I'm here. I didn't exactly say it was summer school; I just said it was an activity thing.

"I thought I would do something different than I do in school, and meet people with the same interests. It is more complicated than what I've done in school.

"But people would say 'Why are you going on a summer school?' but they don't understand it is different."

It is a common attitude among the young people at the summer school. "Some of my friends thought it was quite cool and some of them thought it was weird," says Jennifer.

Dr Harrison says the academy is not trying to single out gifted children as special, merely trying to ensure their talents do not go to waste, and as much emphasis is placed on non-academic activities as on studying.

Each evening, the children can take part in organised activities, from sport to staging a mock UN debate, or just chill out. On Sunday they went to Beamish Museum for the day.

This Saturday, the last day of the summer school, they will take part in a graduation ceremony.

For Rachel, the insights she has gained about herself are is as important as those she has gained into King Lear.

"I have got lots out of it: I have learned lots about myself and I have learned to be a bit more self-sufficient; I have learned that I don't push my opinion and I have learned more life-skills."

Dr Harrison believes one of the main benefits of the summer school is the opportunity to be in a supportive environment.

"We hope they learn a lot because they're engaging with the subject, and also learn important things about themselves, but it is meant to be fun as well.

"The idea is to support people who may be very able students and to make sure they have the opportunity," he says.

It is a sentiment echoed in one of the phrases under "Aims" on the noticeboard: "To make the most of the opportunity", it reads.

It seems that summer school is not so much a hothouse for young Einsteins, more a chance for a group of young people to make the most of their ability.