Practising primary school teachers are facing a number of challenges that need to be overcome if they are to be able to effectively handle learners with diverse needs. Against such a background, a qualitative investigation was undertaken to find out how trainee teachers were prepared to handle gifted learners. The researcher used observations, interviews and focus group discussions to collect data. The analysis of the gathered information was based on the participants’ experiences and explanations. The findings revealed that gifted education was missing in preparing trainee teachers. Teacher preparation programmes did not include gifted education and as such did not adequately equip trainee teachers with the requisite skills to handle gifted learners. Basing on these findings, the recommendations that were made are that there is need for a national policy in Zimbabwe to provide guidelines on gifted education and that teacher education programmes should include a component on gifted education.