Play School Theme (There's a Bear in There) by various performers

One of the most recognisable Australian theme songs, ‘Play School Theme (There's a Bear in There)’ was composed by Richard Connolly with lyrics by Rosemary Milne.

During Play School’s 50-year history there have been five versions of the theme song. This clip is from 1984 and features the voices of Play School presenters Philip Quast and Jennifer Ludlam.

While the words to the song have stayed the same over the years, the arrangement, singers and accompanying images have all changed, and perhaps most notably the accent has gone from British to Australian. The song encourages children to sing along, and repetition and rhyming are a clear example of how the show is written with children in mind.

The enduring popularity of the theme song was celebrated on its 50^th anniversary by the ABC’s triple j Unearthed program, which ran a remix competition attracting over 600 entries.