‘Lots of emotions’: Students prepare to perform in front of thousands for Schools Spectacular

Rising stars from across the state have auditioned and been chosen to represent NSW’s public schools in the world’s biggest variety show.

School Spectatular Featured Artists Bella Laga'aia and Ruby McDonald. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Some of NSW’s most talented young performers have been chosen to represent public school students in the world’s largest amateur variety show — the NSW Schools Spectacular.

After months of extensive auditions, 37 featured vocalists, seven featured instrumentalists and eight backing vocalists are preparing to lead more than 5500 public school students at Qudos Bank Arena on 28 and 29 November.

Year 5 student at Sans Souci public school in south Sydney, Ruby McDonald, will be performing in the show for the first time.

School Spectatular featured artists Bella Laga'aia and Ruby McDonald. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Bella is from Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and Ruby is from Sans Souci Public School. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Of the audience coming to see the show, the 11-year-old said she would be “really, really happy if they’d come to watch me or even look at it on their TV”.

“They get to see me do my best at singing and I just really appreciate them having the time to watch me,” she said.

Chosen from public schools across NSW, the students will perform in the 21,000-capacity venue which has hosted Dua Lipa, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna.

Performing in her fifth Schools Spectacular this year will be Year 9 student at Newtown High School of Performing Arts, Bella Laga’aia, who said being a singer-songwriter is her “dream job”.

Bella’s sister Catherine is set to star as Moana in Disney’s live-action remake of the film, with both sisters taking after their father — actor and singer Jay Laga’aia.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be able to perform, it’s such a great opportunity,” Bella said.

The 15-year-old from Croydon wrote and submitted a song of her own for this year’s performance, titled after Schools Spectacular’s 2025 theme — ‘Remarkable’.

“I’ve been writing songs for a little while now, but I finally gathered the confidence to submit my song to be seen or heard at [Schools Spectacular],” she said.

“Just even getting the opportunity to turn that in and have it heard by the audition panel was insane to me.”

“So knowing that a bunch of little kids are going to learn dances to it and a bunch of people are going to see it and hear it as well is crazy.”

Bella said she began songwriting due to “a lot of trapped emotions”.

“Sometimes I would sit in my room at night and I’d be like, I have so many things on my mind, I wish I could draw it or I wish I could sing it or something like that … I just started writing and it just happened to work for me.”

Meanwhile 11-year-old Ruby said while she enjoys singing because it makes her “feel really happy, sometimes I get a bit sad with songs that are sad”.

“Singing has lots of emotions in it, so you can feel all different types of things,” she said.