Information

The WC Performing Arts Academy programme aims to provide depth and extension for our top performing arts students. 

The Programme is divided into three 'strands' for students to specialise in. For 2026 these will be: 

Instrumental Music, Drama, and Māori Performing Arts, 

The programme runs outside of the regular curriculum for the most part. Students will have 2 hours per week of dedicated Performing Arts Academy Programme time. It is likely that one of these will be Period 1 on Fridays.  The second hour session will be selected as appropriate to the strand and lead teacher. This is likely to be straight after school or a lunchtime, though on occasion this may be transferred to another time if there is an event or external consideration. Note - Year 10 students will not attend the period 1 session (as they have a class at this time)

The programme is open to students in Year 10 - 13. Students may only be enrolled in one strand. However, there may be opportunity for collaboration or crossover between the strands. Strands are vertical  - will include students from Year 10 - 13. 

Each strand has a lead teacher who will teach and faciliate the programme. They will also work alongside external specialists in that area to present workshops and curated sessions that will extend students. One of the values of this programme is students will have dedicated time with specialists in their field running master classes and sessions that are specific to our porgramme. Students will gain specialist knowledge and experiences, and have the opportunity to network with professionals in their field. 

It is a requirement that all students in the Performing Arts Academy are enrolled in the applicable subject course also. See the Strand page for full details of these. 

It is expected that once students have been offered and accepted their place within the programme, they will commit to the sessions offered at the times they run. We may run a waitlist if there is more interest than we are able to accommodate. 

In future years we hope to expand the strands offered. 

The programme aims to run in a Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership model with both Toi Māori and Toi Pākehā resourced and working side by side. 

There is no cost to students - we are grateful to the school for supporting this exciting programme.