Staff, former staff, students and special dignitaries gathered at the school on Friday, May 5 for a ceremony to recognise four years of hard work and the birth of a contemporary space for students.

The service was led by Phil Gibney and included speeches from school principal Peter Nicholls, director of Catholic schools for the Maitland-Newcastle diocese Gerard Mowbray and Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie.

Maitland-Newcastle vicar general Father Andrew Doohan performed the official opening and unveiling of the plaque.

Mr Nicholls said the new centre is already a hit with staff and students.

"It's the end of the project and the starting point of a new era in education at St Clare's.

"What we have here is a flexible learning space which will lend itself to large group and small group interactions.

"It gives them (students) the opportunity to choose the environment in which they are learning.

"The whole scale of the thing is about 'you learn everywhere and anywhere'," Mr Nicholls said.

That's not the only new addition to the school.

"We have a hub in the library now which is service orientated to all aspects of education.

"We have new student amenities which were long overdue, new basketball courts and an amphitheatre at the end of the building which is built for outdoor performance.

"It's built with an eye for the digital future of our country," Mr Nicholls said.

Mr Mowbray said the $7.5 million project was joint funded between the federal government ($3.2 million) and a diocese building levy ($4.3 million).

"So the mums and dads of St Clare's and the other Manning schools have basically contributed to a fund that assists in offsetting federal supported funding," he said.

The project has transformed the school into a contemporary place of learning.

"It's a tremendously proud day for the community of St Clare's.

"The real winners are the children of the Manning who are really able to enjoy some very beautiful but also very effective learning spaces in this school.

"One of the great things you'll note in the building is the very un-school like furniture.

"You've got furniture that is very comfortable, very contemporary, it wouldn't look out of place in a lounge room and the kids feel very comfortable and very respected as learners in such an environment," Mr Mowbray said.

The flexibility of the centre will create a new environment never seen before at the school.

"The open spaces bring teachers together- they're not separated in their little rooms so you'll get an environment where the staff are working together on what learning outcomes they'll be working with the kids on," Mr Mowbray said.

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