Best Australian private schools for drama + visual arts

Consistently top-five NSW HSC ranked school · Inner-city campus with strong creative arts focus · Progressive Anglican social-justice ethos

Australia's oldest girls' school (est. 1856) · Eastern Sydney harbour-adjacent campus · Strong HSC outcomes + drama tradition

Strong HSC results + creative arts · North Sydney harbour-edge campus · Notable alumni: Quentin Bryce, Catherine Burn

Modern co-ed eastern suburbs · Strong music + drama + visual arts · Personalised learning pathways

IB Diploma offered alongside VCE in Years 11-12 (since 1997) · Carey Toonallook outdoor education campus in Gippsland · Strong music program via the Phil de Young Performing Arts Centre

IB Diploma offered alongside HSC · Recently became co-educational from K-12 · Eastern Suburbs harbourside campus with strong arts program

IB Primary Years and Diploma Programmes · Strong STEM and performing arts focus · Founded by the Sisters of the Church

Joint Jesuit + Loreto Sisters foundation · Strong music + drama programs · Mid-fee Catholic co-ed in Perth west

Highest ICSEA of the four at 1164, placing it among the most socio-educationally advantaged schools in Australia · Founded 1909 by the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne; one of Victoria's few remaining girls' boarding schools (Brighton senior campus, boarding fee $36,366 in 2026) · Co-ed Junior School at Sandringham plus close brother-school ties with Brighton Grammar (joint music, drama and a 5% sibling fee concession across the two schools)

Strong upper North Shore community · Anglican Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent foundation · Strong HSC results + creative arts

IB Diploma alongside VCE · Bayside Melbourne campus · Strong sport + creative arts

Sacred Heart Madeleine Sophie Barat tradition · Largest girls' boarding school in QLD · Strong music + drama programs

Glengarry outdoor education campus (Year 9 program) · Strong rugby and pipe band tradition (Brave Hearts, Bold Minds) · GPS member with broad co-curricular offering

Western Melbourne Anglican girls school · Strong music + drama programs · Mid-fee Anglican option

IB World School offering both Primary Years Programme and IB Diploma · Choice of IB Diploma or QCE in Years 11-12 · Strong music, drama and sport program on a 33-hectare campus

Round Square network member (250 partner schools globally for exchanges) · Top-10 Queensland academic results, highest-achieving Sunshine Coast school (2011 NAPLAN) · Strong music, sport and dramatic arts co-curricular programs

Mid-fee Uniting Church girls school · Strong music + drama programs · Boarding for regional WA families

Presentation Sisters Nano Nagle tradition · Strong music + drama programs · Lower-fee Catholic girls option in Perth

Mary Ward Loreto Sisters tradition · Lower-fee Catholic girls option · Strong music + drama programs

North-west Sydney Anglican co-ed · Kellyville campus · Strong music + drama programs

100-acre forest campus with co-educational excellence · Strong academic results with top-10 Queensland standing · Extensive co-curricular music, drama and sport programs

Parallel learning model (single-sex Years 5-9, co-ed Year 10-12) · Eastern Melbourne campus · Strong music + drama

North Brisbane Anglican co-ed school · Strong music + drama programs · Mid-fee Anglican option

Boarding option for Years 7-12 ($34,400/year for full boarding) · Award-winning independent Prep-Year 12 college with 1,400+ students · Personalised learning experiences across academics, arts and sport

Only girls' school on the Gold Coast; full and weekly boarding from Year 6 · Strong arts and music program · 5% discount for early payment of fees

Mercy Education girls' college (Sisters of Mercy, est. 1938) on an elevated Swan River site; one of WA's leading Catholic girls' schools with ICSEA ~1117 · Around 150 boarders across Years 7-12 in four residential houses, mostly rural and regional WA girls (boarding $30,434 on top of tuition) · New Cultural Centre with a 642-seat auditorium and black-box theatre opening early 2026; structured senior pathways via ACCESS training and UniReady/UniPath university preparation

Highest ICSEA of these four schools at 1115; non-denominational secular co-ed school on a 56-acre (23 ha) bayside campus in Redland City, with flat Year 7-12 tuition of $18,840 for 2026 · Signature LINQ Precinct (learning, innovation, knowledge facility) and the Australian School of the Arts (ASTA, established 2006); its Space Design Competition team won four consecutive national titles (2011-2015) · Notable alumni include singer/voice actor Megan Washington, Test/Sheffield Shield cricketer Sam Heazlett and AFL player Elliott Himmelberg; founded 1997, now ~1,311 students Prep-Year 12

Western Sydney Anglican girls school · Boarding house for rural NSW + ACT families · Strong music + drama programs

Run by Missionaries of the Sacred Heart · Strong performing arts and music program · Co-ed across all year levels since 1996

Affordable co-ed Catholic college (flat $9,390 tuition across Years 7-12) with steep sibling discounts: 20% second child, 40% third, 100% fourth and beyond · K-12 after the 2022 amalgamation with Yidarra Catholic Primary School; aquatics centre completed 2021 plus theatre, chapel and science laboratories on the Murdoch Drive campus · Notable alumni include TV host Rove McManus, world No. 1 golfer and Olympian Minjee Lee, and 2002 Brownlow Medallist Simon Black