Southbank, VIC Family Guide

Southbank is mostly apartments, and it sits on top of Melbourne's arts precinct: the Arts Centre, the NGV and a government arts school are all inside the suburb. So for a family living here the useful question is often not where the nearest oval is, but what there is for a child whose thing is dance, music, art or a second language. Sport makes up most of any Melbourne activity list; this section deliberately looks at the rest.

Dance and art classes

Within 3 km, AroundSchools lists 3 kids' activity providers tagged as dance schools. Each name opens its listing, with class times, ages and contact details wherever the provider has added them, and the suburb column shows where each one actually is.

Live from the AroundSchools directory — 3 of 57 kids' activity providers we list in Southbank · correct as at 28 Sept 2026

For drawing and painting, Melbourne Art Classes in Port Melbourne runs term classes and workshops for juniors as well as adults.

Languages and tutoring

The other non-sport cluster within reach is learning: 4 kids' activity providers for languages and tutoring, from toddler French to maths and English support.

Live from the AroundSchools directory — 4 of 57 kids' activity providers we list in Southbank · correct as at 28 Sept 2026

What the precinct runs for children

The NGV on St Kilda Road runs a school-holiday program for children, teens and families, with a mix of free and ticketed sessions across its two galleries. The NGV school-holiday program page carries the current dates and bookings.

The Spring holidays for Victorian government schools run 19 Sept 2026 to 4 Oct 2026; the Victorian school holidays page has the rest of the year.

Southbank Library on City Road sits inside the Boyd Community Hub, a former girls' high school that also houses artist studios, a cafe and maternal and child health services, so a baby check and a library visit can be the same trip.

Two government schools in the suburb, two different ways in

South Melbourne Primary School on Ferrars Street is a multi-storey government primary, Prep to Year 6. Its site also holds a long day care kindergarten and maternal and child health rooms, and its sports courts and multi-purpose rooms are shared for community use, according to the Victorian School Building Authority. For a family with a toddler and a school-age child, that puts care, check-ups and school on one site.

VCASS on Miles Street is also a government school, but a select-entry one: entry is by audition only. Music and Dance take students from Year 7, while Theatre Arts and Visual Arts take entry at Year 11. Its enrolment page says the open day is usually in May, and Year 7 applications for the following year closed soon after it this year, so a child hoping to audition for Year 7 needs to be ready by autumn of Year 6.

For a government secondary place by address rather than by audition, the school-zones panel above shows the zones covering central Southbank, and the catchment checker answers it for your exact street.

Where to start

Open any listing in the two tables to see its classes and get in touch with the provider, open the two school profiles, then check your street in the catchment checker before you sign a lease or a contract.