 It is Australia's only Year 3-to-Year 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.