Type Performing Arts School Grades 7–12 Phone +61 3 8644 8644 Number of students 370 | Established 1978 Enrolment 370 Motto Arts is life Founded 1978 | |
Principal Hilary Bland (Acting Principal 2017) Similar Victorian College Of The Arts, University of Melbourne, Mount Alexander College, The University High Sch, The MacRob Girls' Hig Profiles | ||
Victorian college of the arts secondary school of dance music
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS), is a state government selective school located within the Melbourne Arts Precinct in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia. VCASS teaches students from Year 7 to 12. It has an enrolment of 370 students.
Contents
- Victorian college of the arts secondary school of dance music
- History
- Academics
- Notable alumni
- References
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, and Gymnastics Victoria.
Victorian college of the arts secondary school of dance music
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.
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
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, Studio Arts and Theatre Arts.
Some students study additional languages via Distance Education Victoria, such as Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, German or Spanish.
In 2011, the Victorian Certificate of Education median study score was 34 and 27 percent of students achieved a study score above 40.