Opportunities are available for talented young dancers and musicians to gain entry to the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, located on the campus of the Victorian College of the Arts. Prospective students can find further information on the school’s website. Entry to the school is by competitive audition, held in August each year. Positions are open to Years 7 to 12 students throughout Victoria, Australia and the international community. During an audition, a student’s potential is taken into account as well as his or her talent. Music students graduating from the school are gaining placements at the highest levels and performing in many of the great orchestras and ensembles throughout the world. Dance graduates can be found in the Australian Ballet Company, Queensland Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet Dance Company, The Royal Ballet School, London and the VCA. Dance alumni are also to be found in many contemporary dance companies. The VCA Secondary School is also the academic provider through referral to the Australian Ballet School, Gymnastics Victoria and Diving Victoria. Other elite trainers also study at the school.
Facilities: Access to the VCA library for Years 11 and 12 students and to facilities and institutions within the Southbank Arts Precinct.
Curriculum: VCA Secondary School provides a training program supported by a high-quality general education to prepare talented young people for professional careers in music and dance. Students at VCASS spend half of their day in their academic studies and half of their day in their specialist area being taught by musicians and dancers. This means that all students entering the school have to be highly motivated in order to manage the heavy workload. A full performance program is a significant aspect at the VCA Secondary School and students perform at a number of professional venues throughout the year. Including St John’s Church at Southgate, The Iwaki Auditorium and the Malthouse Theatre. As well as Music and Dance, the VCA Secondary School offers a full course of study from each of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards areas to Years 7 to 10 students. This includes English, Mathematics, Science, Art, Information Technology, French, Drama, and Humanities. In Years 11 and 12, students undertake the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) in Music and Dance and a range of other VCE subjects to complete a full VCE. VCE results in both the specialist and academic areas of the VCA Secondary School are excellent. All students study Vocational and Education Training (VET) courses.
Accommodation: In order to accommodate overseas, interstate and country students, the school has developed a homestay option. All students living away from home come under the care of the Head of Student Services who will work with parents to ensure that students are given as high a level of care as possible.