The pupils have spent this term studying the gold rush days, and staging their version of the musical was another way of making the past come to life, principal Simon Waymouth said.
Rush! was based on Otago's gold rush history and written by Queenstown playwright David John and Arrowtown musician Kevin Lynch.
The musical premiered in 1998, with a cast of more than 50 actors, singers and dancers.
It was described as this country's biggest home-grown musical.
Poolburn's version of the musical included excerpts from the original show and included narrative about the gold rush days in Ophir.
"All this history is on our doorstep and when we're studying a topic it's good to be able to get the opportunity to do it for real," Mr Waymouth said.
"Our school vision is all about the World of Difference in Central Otago so this is part of our focus on the local environment."
The children, aged from 5 to 12, gave one performance of the musical, on Thursday evening.
