The McDonald College of the Performing Arts /

The McDonald College is an independent, co-educational, non-denominational, performing arts, day and boarding school, located in North Strathfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1984, the school currently caters for approximately 495 students from Preparatory (4 years of age) to Year 12, including 37 female boarders from Year 7 to 12. It is Australia's only P to 12, independent school that provides specialist training in the Performing Arts on a daily basis. The college is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), and the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW). Whilst officially established in 1984, The McDonald College has a tradition and history dating back to the establishment of the Ann McDonald College of Dancing by Ann McDonald, a dance and singing teacher, in 1926. On Ann McDonald's retirement her daughter, Margaret Markham, took over the Ann McDonald College of Dancing. In 1983 Markham saw the opportunity for establishing a specialist academic and