The study investigates underlying causes of underachievement in a rural school, by primary aged male students who demonstrate bright minds in out-of-school activity. Observation over seven years prior to the study and in several schools, indicated that this phenomenon was not uncommon. Students have preferred styles of learning, and the perception was that the teaching-learning style, designed originally for urban primary schools, did not meet the needs of these particular students. The study set out to investigate the findings of other researchers in the area of underachievement, and to experiment with a different style of curriculum and classroom environment. Assumptions and questions were drawn from an extensive review of the literature and from these, student profiles were developed. Questionnaires for parents and a writing exercise for students relating to their background were created, and a series of charts and tables was also created and completed for each student. Four students, all from farming families, were the final focus of the study, but the research activities were conducted with the whole class to ascertain the validity of the assumptions. The literature advised working with an overly large sample for this reason. The study found that the style of family environment experienced in early childhood determines traits and characteristics of the individual. An environment such as that of a farming family has been found to develop in some children traits of the highly creative. Such traits and characteristics need independence and self-direction in the learning environment. Students responded to a changed learning environment in school where they had some control over their learning, within parameters and a different more motivating medium for presentation.