Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School

Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School
Address
	57 Miles Street; Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria; Australia
Coordinates	37°49′42″S 144°57′54″E / 37.8284295°S 144.9649429°E
Information
Type	Government-funded co-educational selective and specialist secondary day school
Motto	Art is life
Established	1978; 46 years ago
Founders	Lenton Parr; Jack Pitt; Government of Victoria; Victorian College of the Arts;
Specialists	Performing arts; Visual arts;
Principal	Hilary Bland
Grades	7–12
Enrolment	370
Affiliations	Australian Ballet School; Gymnastics Victoria; University of Melbourne;
Website	www.vcass.vic.edu.au

Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS), is a government-funded co-educational selective and specialist secondary day school, with speciality in the performing and visual arts, located within the Melbourne Arts Precinct in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1978, VCASS teaches students from Year 7 to Year 12; and has an enrolment of 370 students.^[1]

Students are accepted after annual auditions and interviews. All students share academic subjects, but follow either a specialised dance, music, theatre arts or visual arts training program for half the day. The school also provides academic classes to secondary students from other institutions including the Australian Ballet School,^[2] and Gymnastics Victoria.

History

Instigated by the former tertiary institution Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), as a separate and complementary institution, VCASS was founded in 1978 by Lenton Parr and Jack Pitt (as the Victorian College of the Arts Technical School – VCATS). This was the same year that the tertiary VCA commenced its dance faculty, and VCATS was conceived as a preparatory school for the tertiary dance and music courses. In 1981 the name was changed to VCASS. For most of its history VCASS shared its campus and buildings with the tertiary VCA at 234 St Kilda Road, but in June 2009 moved to new purpose built premises at 57 Miles Street, Southbank.^[3]

The Dance and Music specialist programs run in parallel from Year 7 to 12. In 2013 the school added a Year 11 intake for its Visual Arts program. In 2016 a new Theatre Arts program commenced with a Year 11 intake.

Academics

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) studies offered by the school:
Art, Biology, Chemistry, Dance, Drama, English, English (EAL), French, Further Mathematics, General Mathematics, Health and Human Development, History: 20th Century (1900–1945), History: 20th Century (since 1945), History: Revolutions, Literature, Mathematical Methods (CAS), Media, Music Investigation, Music Performance, Music Style and Composition, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Art Making and Exhibiting, Drama and Theatre Studies.^[4]

Some students study additional languages via Distance Education Victoria, such as Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, German or Spanish.

In 2011, the VCE median study score was 34, and 27 percent of students achieved a study score above 40.^[5]

Notable alumni

Zoë Black – violinist^[6]^[7]
Rebecca Chambers – pianist, 1995 Young Australian of the Year^[8]
Sonny Chua (1967–2020) – concert pianist, composer
Natalie Gauci – vocalist^[9]^[10]
Greg Horsman – dancer and choreographer, former principal Australian Ballet and Senior Principal English National Ballet^[6]
Charlotte Nicdao – actor^[11]
Marshall McGuire – harpist^[6]
Patrick Savage – film composer and former principal first violin with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Right School Right Place - Victorian Government Schools". State of Victoria, Department of Education and Training. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
^ "Academic Studies". The Australian Ballet School. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
^ "Media Release: Curtain Up On Re-Staging Of Arts Secondary School". Legislation.vic.gov.au. 14 August 2006. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
^ "School Studies Search". Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.
^ "Suburbs soar to the top of the class". The Herald Sun. 7 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "VCASS | Hall of Fame".
^ "Zoe Black – Australian World Orchestra".
^ "Hall of Fame". VCASS: The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.
^ "NATALIE GAUCI - Claudia eRecords". Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
^ Donovan, Chris Evans and Patrick (26 November 2007). "Melbourne singer claims Idol crown". The Age.
^ http://feminartsy-com.dreamhosters.com/value-your-work-a-conversation-with-charlotte-nicdao/ ^{[dead link]}

External links

Official website

[vicgov-1] "Right School Right Place - Victorian Government Schools". State of Victoria, Department of Education and Training. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

[2] "Academic Studies". The Australian Ballet School. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

[3] "Media Release: Curtain Up On Re-Staging Of Arts Secondary School". Legislation.vic.gov.au. 14 August 2006. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2010.

[4] "School Studies Search". Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

[5] "Suburbs soar to the top of the class". The Herald Sun. 7 January 2011.

[vcass.vic.edu.au-6] "VCASS | Hall of Fame".

[7] "Zoe Black – Australian World Orchestra".

[8] "Hall of Fame". VCASS: The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.

[9] "NATALIE GAUCI - Claudia eRecords". Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.

[10] Donovan, Chris Evans and Patrick (26 November 2007). "Melbourne singer claims Idol crown". The Age.

[11] ttp://feminartsy-com.dreamhosters.com/value-your-work-a-conversation-with-charlotte-nicdao/ ^{[dead link]}

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v t e Performing arts schools in Australia
Acting	Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts Adelaide College of the Arts Australian Institute of Music - Dramatic Arts (formerly Australian Academy of Dramatic Art) Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne National Institute of Dramatic Art New York Film Academy Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Screenwise Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Dance	Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts Australian Ballet School Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Music	Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts Australian Institute of Music Australian National Academy of Music Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Sydney Conservatorium of Music Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music UWA Conservatorium of Music Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Musical theatre	Australian Institute of Music Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Secondary	Australian Performing Arts Grammar School Newtown High School of the Performing Arts Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School John Curtin College of the Arts

History

Academics

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links