Varna Community Primary School is a project with Manchester City Council,  featuring 12 classrooms to accommodate two form entries per school year. Our initial brief had been to create a one form entry school to accommodate 210 pupils plus a nursery. However, because of rising demand for primary school places in Manchester this was increased to a 1.5 form entry, and finally a two form entry for 420 pupils plus nursery.

The school is at the cutting edge of sustainable design, having achieved a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.  Measures include a green roof, which traps rainwater and provides a habitat for wildlife, as well as onsite, renewable air source heat pumps which provide over half of the school’s energy. The installation of these measures put Varna Community Primary in the top 10 per cent of UK schools when it comes to energy efficiency.  The school building has a carbon footprint which is 53% lower than the old school building it replaced.