This article describes how an industrial building in Perth, Western Australia, has been converted into a secondary school to suit the particular needs of girls with educational and social difficulties. The aim of the building project was to provide a small school for approximately 30 students that caters to the needs of adolescent girls who are unable to operate within the mainstream or independent school systems. The girls, aged 12 to 17, are referred to the school for a variety of problems including chronic truancy; inability to function in a large classroom (because of poor literacy or social skills, lack of concentration, low achievement levels or disruptive behaviour); and drug-related and psychiatric problems. The students are in years eight to 12; however classes are grouped according to social development rather than age group. The classrooms accommodate small class sizes, typically six to eight students per teacher with a high degree of supervision and support for the students. St. Clare's School was registered in 1957 and had operated over the years in many temporary locations around the city under the management of the Catholic Education Centre of Western Australia. In 2001 two adjoining industrial workshops in a central city location were purchased in order to be converted into a permanent home for the school.