Mission

To educate each student according to age and development so that learning and growth are united;

To integrate the developing mind and body of the student through academics and the performing arts and sciences;

To ensure each student's excellence in core and academic skills;

To awaken and preserve the spirit of our students through the visual and digital arts, vocal arts, instrumental music, creative writing, classical ballet, foreign language, innovations in the field of science, all intertwined with technology, and;

To nourish this spirit and curiosity so that students continue to flourish long after the end of formal training.

Points Of Pride

Arts and Innovation:

The Majors Program enables students to cultivate knowledge and skill in an artistic or academic content area that is meaningful to them. Students spend 90 minutes each day in their major, and participate in a variety performances, exhibitions, masterclasses, field trips, and elective coursework.

Technology:

The Vine Street Campus is formally recognized by Apple as an Apple Distinguished School.

​Authentic Experiences:

The Vine Street Campus houses the Particle Incubator Fellowship. Start-up companies in areas such as, culinary, fashion, and marketing have offices on-site and provide internship and entrepreneurial opportunities for our students. Café Vine is a student-run coffee shop that operates during the school year and provides paid jobs to students over the summer. 

Facilities:

The state-of-the-art 265,000-square-foot building promotes interdisciplinary instruction with a 200-seat theater, a motion capture studio, two dance studios, four science labs, four music studios, two fine arts studios, an innovation lab, a music recording studio, a Pastry and Baking Teaching Lab, and Café Vine.

Athletics:

Click HERE to view athletics stats from previous seasons.

Admissions Policy

The admissions process for Philadelphia Performing Arts is conducted through a lottery system. The lottery will take place on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year.

The application deadline for the upcoming lottery is January 31, 2024.

Kindergarten applicants must be 5 years old by September 1, 2024 to be eligible to apply for the 2024-2025 school year.

Please note: The Vine Street Campus houses students in grades 6 to 12. Please see the East and West Campuses page for information regarding grades K to 5.

Read and download our admissions policies and procedures by clicking HERE.

Accreditations and Honors

• Recognized as a Top Public High School in Philadelphia, 2022, Philadelphia Magazine
• 99% graduation rate
• 97% college acceptance rate.
• Students participate in All City Choir and Orchestra.
• Winner B101 Christmas Choir Competition, 9th-12th Grade Division.
• Recognized by George Lucas's education foundation, Edutopia.
• Formally recognized by Apple as an Apple Distinguished School.
• Teams of students competed successfully as Finalists and First & Second Prize Winners at three University of Pennsylvania Wharton competitions.
• High school students participate in dual enrollment programs with Drexel University, University of the Arts, Cabrini College, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, and Community College of Philadelphia.
• Students received two gold medals and one certificate of recognition in Le Grand Concours (National French Contest), 2015.

Hours of Operation

Extended Programming Details

Entrance Instructions