Saint Clare's Catholic Primary School

St Clare’s Catholic School, Tully FNQ is a single stream primary school of some 180 pupils. This major building project was initiated under the Federal Government’s BER Program. The school has limited open ground area and the inclusion of large new buildings was seen as an unwanted imposition on the school’s masterplan, so the funding was applied to a minor extension to its recently renovated library, a new classroom and the major project being the conversion of an existing undercover area to a new performing arts centre.

St Clare’s has a long tradition of an annual fete and school events which are pivotal in the Tully community calendar. The opportunity was to create the new performance centre so that it could function as a traditional multipurpose auditorium catering for music, dance, theatre, and school gatherings. Alternatively, the space literally opens up, revealing the auditorium which can become a stage itself, accommodating gatherings of 1000 people or more. The sloping lawn then serves as seating and a forecourt for these annual community events.

Photography: Stuart Frost