While full details about Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) Online High School will be released only on the 25th of April, there is already enough known about the world’s first virtual high school for gifted children to merit a post.

For one, we know that the online high school will offer not only a full standard curriculum for students through grades 10 to 12 (leading to a high school diploma), but also extended courses that may not be available through their regular schools (for high school credit of course).

We also know that prospective students must be able to prove their “giftedness”, whether through SATs, PSATs, IQ tests, or a combination of them.

But what we do not know is how much the tuition fees are going to be. Many believe that it will be around US$12,000 per annum - a figure charged by the University of Miami’s online high school. Personally, that’s a bit steep, but I guess you’re talking about Stanford. Moreover, there will most likely be sufficient financial aid for American students.

Overall, I see this school as an excellent first step towards developing the talents of gifted children, but there is need for such programs not only in America, but also in developing countries like Malaysia - where even math geniuses have to sit through conventional primary education after they’ve exhausted all that they can learn from such an institution.