Gifted children are not being properly taught in schools because of the "constraints" of the curriculum, a Midland teacher and Mensa member claimed.
Instead of having their intellect stretched by more in-depth study, bright pupils are forced to learn repetitive "facts and figures", said Lyn Allcock.
Ms Allcock, who works as an inclusion co-ordinator at Westwood School in Coventry, has an IQ of 157 - the average is 100.
She is a member of the Foundation for Gifted Children committee within Mensa, the Wolverhamptonbased organisation for the brainiest two per cent of the population.
Ms Allcock said: "The constraints on teachers are terrible. If a pupil finds a subject interesting the teacher hasn't the time to run with it because they have to cover so much over a certain period.
"A lot of schooling is about learning facts and figures and undertaking various things you have to spout out in an exam. That doesn't give them an opportunity to think laterally, to do their own research, to ask 'why?'
"These are the things other kids won't want to do or don't have the focus to do."
Ms Allcock has now come up with a universal lesson plan to use with gifted pupils.
Developed over 15 years, the programme puts emphasis on research and investigation to encourage youngsters to draw out their own findings. It is intended to be used mainly outside the normal curriculum time, for example in after school groups or during lunchtime.
But Ms Allcock said schools could also use it to teach break-out groups of bright pupils during lesson time.
She hopes the ten-session module, which can be bought from Mensa, will help teachers nationwide.
"As a teacher working with gifted and talented students I realised that there was a gap in provision," said the 48-year-old. "There are many good books and online resources, but developing lessons is time consuming."
