Our rich cultural tapestry and an unwavering commitment to artistic expression has fostered a thriving landscape of exceptional performing art schools. By giving performers an opportunity to refine their skills and unleash their creativity, they have the potential to pave their path towards a dazzling future.
With access to world-class programs, passionate faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and vibrant creative communities, enrolled students are given a rare glimpse of the magic behind the curtain, alongside their Australian curriculum-focused education
Across the country, these institutions have honed the talents of countless actors, dancers, musicians, and directors – enabling Australia to enjoy a reputation for star-quality performing arts education.
Victorian College Of The Arts Secondary School, VIC
Featuring world-class dance, music and visual and theatre arts programs, the Victorian College of The Arts provides a unique environment for students to follow their passion for the performing arts without jeopardising academic success.
Featuring state-of-the-art facilities, the school offers opportunities for talented young dancers and musicians to combine their specialist training needs with a high-quality education from Year 7 to Year 12.
Also acting as an academic provider to highly gifted students from the Australian Ballet School and Gymnastics Victoria, the school boasts an eclectic mix of educators passionate about arts education and the students they teach.
Patrick Studio of Dance, VIC
Patrick Studio Of Dance is based in Melbourne and provides a unique schooling environment where gifted students can confidently explore both artistic and academic education.
Considered Australia’s leading performing arts school, the Arts High School allow students to learn all facets of the performing arts from passionate industry professionals.
Alongside the curriculum, students in this performing arts program with complete training in acting, singing, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre and conditioning.
While honing their skills in the performance arts, these full-time high school students are allowed to complete their academic studies through enrolment in a registered supplementary educational provider, Virtual School Victoria (VSV).
The Arts High School allocates three hours a day for academic study, with VCE students (years 11-12) also allowed additional study hours.
The McDonald College, NSW
In the school’s own words, “performance isn’t just about what happens on-stage or on a court. It is also about performance in the classroom”.
Famous for its storied history in ballet and dance, The McDonald College has evolved to give students a world-class education across performance sports, academics and the performing arts.
From kindergarten onwards, the college promises to foster critical thinking and creative problem-solving in students throughout their schooling career, allowing students to graduate as all-round performers.
The school boasts expanded offerings across all streams of performing arts and also performance sports – specifically tennis and rhythmic gymnastics – and promises students a varied and extensive educational experience.
With state-of-the-art facilities, experienced academic staff and extensive classroom support, Principal Maxine Kohler promises students will feel “the McDonald difference”.
Newtown High School, NSW
Newtown High School of the Performing Arts is one of Australia’s leading performing and visual arts schools and has been recognised internationally for its excellence in the industry.
In addition to studying the traditional classroom subjects, the school curriculum allows students to study dance, drama, music and visual arts to the highest performance and intellectual level.
The first government school in the state to offer a continuous program in the performing and visual arts, performers are challenged by specialist and artistic education programs designed to prepare students for exciting careers in the industry.
Featuring dance studios, music rooms, visual art studios and more, the school has been purpose-built around the performance arts disciplines and promises a nurturing environment for students to hone their skills.
Throughout the curriculum, enrolled students are also supported by video, technical, costume and design companies as they write scripts, compositions and direct fellow students through performances.
Westminister School, SA
The Westminster school holds regular arts-focused events and has a fine tradition in large and smaller-scale performing arts productions.
Students can explore all facets of production, including performance, set design, publicity, photography, costumes, make-up, lighting, and sound.
Involvement in music, drama, and dance is encouraged from the preparatory schooling level and can continue to develop these skills throughout their senior years.
Westminster’s purpose-built dance studio is home to an ever-growing number of dance students, currently boasting the largest cohort of dancers undertaking both curricular and co-curricular dance.
The school’s Michael Murray Centre for the Performing Arts is one of South Australia’s largest performance venues. Featuring an 800-seat concert hall, adjoining 200-seat intimate theatre, and modern facilities for contemporary music, drama, dance, workshops and seminars, students can hone their performance skills in a professional environment.
The Canterbury College, QLD
The Canterbury College provides students interested in the Arts with a broad, specialised program throughout Junior School and Secondary School, allowing student artists to explore and excel in their chosen discipline as they journey through their education.
Students are allowed to take studio tuition in orchestral and band instruments, voice, guitar, piano, acting, drama and dance. The Academy also offers performance opportunities for all students from year 1 to Year 12 in dance, drama and music ensembles.
Students may participate in workshops, masterclasses, professional performance opportunities, medium to long-term projects, tours, university early entry, certification courses and more.
Sheldon College, QLD
In collaboration with The Australian School of The Arts (ASTA), Sheldon College offers a comprehensive and innovative Co-Curricular Arts Program offered to students from Preparatory to Year 12.
Students can expect to experience a variety of disciplines offered by industry professionals on their education journey. The schools currently have over 1000 students enrolled in all facets of the arts, programs including drama, dance, visual arts (including fashion and costume design), film, television and performance music.
Building on the College’s Arts curriculum, the co-curricular program is specifically designed to identify, equip, extend and nurture students who show a passion and talent for any area of the Arts, equipping graduates with the skills they need to succeed in the industry.
The school also offers senior art students the opportunity to join an audition-based Professionals Program. Nurturing the skills of talented year 9 – 12 students, this program offers specialist excellence courses in the areas of combined performing arts, fine art, fashion and costume design and film, television and new media.
St Michaels Collegiate, TAS
St Michael’s Collegiate is renowned across the state for its commitment to the performing arts. Their School of Performing Arts (SPA) is an innovative “school within a school” that offers a specialist program dedicated towards talented students in Years 8 to 10.
Whether acting, dance or singing, students can build on their core skills and access unique career opportunities through technical training, master classes, specialised tutoring and workshops, performance evenings and eisteddfods.
Taking place in the Performing Arts Centre, home to a 250-seat theatre, dance studio, drama studio, practice rooms and dressing rooms, the SPA program exposes students to a range of local and interstate concerts and performances.
Led by an experienced teaching team, SPA has been specifically designed to prepare students to audition for various performing arts schools and acts as a pathway to non and pre-tertiary level TCE courses, such as dance, drama/theatre performance and music.
John Curtain College of The Arts, WA
Home to 35 years of performing Arts, John Curtain College of The Arts enables gifted and talented music theatre students to follow their passion for the performing arts with professional artists, choreographers, teachers and performers as teachers.
For students early in their schooling, those in the Gifted and Talented Music Theatre Program build their fundamentals of musical theatre skills in classes that combine dance, drama and music.
Here, the program is split into two diverging disciplines. Over the course of the week, two sessions are focused on music aural and theory development, and literature, while the other two sessions develop performance skills through drama and dance.
In later schooling years (years 11-12), gifted students can then follow one of two pathways. One focuses on achieving an ATAR for tertiary admission, while the other is a Contemporary Music course with a music theatre performance emphasis.
Darwin Middle School, NT
Providing the largest and most comprehensive middle school music program in the Northern Territory, Darwin Middle School allows gifted students to nurture their passion for the performance arts through specialist teachers and state-of-the-art facilities.
The classroom music program caters to the full range of students’ abilities, from the novice player to the most accomplished performer. Here, students can develop their critical and creative thinking skills, build their musical potential and develop their confidence by playing their instrument solo and in groups at public performances.
Each year, elective music students are given the opportunity to dramatically improve their confidence on stage and build their performing skills through participating in a semester of Concert Band.
Involving weekly rehearsals with a conductor in conjunction with music lessons and support lessons from the NT Music School, students can access to industry professional advice and future learning pathways for the performing arts.
The Essington School, NT
Darwin’s top independent private school, The Essington School, offers performing and visual arts subjects taught as part of the curriculum, as specialist subjects and as co-curricular and extra-curricular options from pre-school to year 12.
This school’s promise is to help foster passionate students’ skills, with an ‘Enrichment Program’ that allows students to explore their passions in dance, music and media with guidance from specialised teachers.
It has a proud history of producing award-winning short films and congratulated public performances, and enrolled students are allowed to bolster their creativity and interact with cutting-edge resources.
Students can also apply for The Essington Instrumental Music Program (IMP), where they can receive instrumental and vocal tuition during the school day or after hours at both the main and senior college campuses.
