Megan Sutcliffe, 12, has no small goals for her future: she wants to be either a Queen’s Counsel or the Prime Minister of Britain.To help her reach her goals, she is involved in a programme for gifted children Centre for Talented Youth (CTY).She and 30 other Bermuda CTY students will take intensive learning courses with the parent CTY programme at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland this summer.Those participating are between eight and 18 years old.“I will be taking a course called Examining the Evidence, which will be all about forensic science and crime scenes,” said Megan. “During the class, we will make a crime scene, almost. We have to set things up and then examine things like ballistics.”Amelia Burke, 13, said she would be taking a course in creative writing. Last year, she did a summer writing course called Heroes and Villains.“I definitely enjoyed it,” she said. “We explored lots of different genres. I think I improved my writing a lot. My plots are now more elaborate and my characters are deeper.”Although she was excited about the course, she was particularly excited to be staying in a dormitory for the first time.Riquette Bonne-Smith, executive director of the CTY programme in Bermuda, said scholarships had been provided for 17 students in the programme.“They are very excited,” she said. “The programme is so challenging. They discover another way of learning, and they also have a chance to learn with other students who are also gifted and excited about learning. It exposes the children to a wider, broader world of knowledge, and it also exposes them to other countries and cultures. It opens doors for them and shows them what it takes to succeed academically. They often come back empowered.”The parent programme at Johns Hopkins has several aims including offering gifted students challenging educational opportunities, conducting research about gifted education and supporting educators in their efforts to meet the needs of gifted students.To qualify for CTY, students must take part in its regular academic talent searches. Interested students are also required to take the School and College Ability Test (SCAT) or the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT). Testing is usually offered in December. For more information e-mail info[AT]ctybermuda.bm or telephone 296-7259.Useful website: cty.jhu.edu/ts/index.html.