Varna Community Primary School
Chisholm Street, Openshaw, Manchester, M11 2LE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Karen Livesey
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Manchester Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 467
- URN
- 105459
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617111023
About this school
Varna Community Primary School is a community primary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 467 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 65 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 54% | 39% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 5% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 66% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 63% | 45% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 62% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Varna Community Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 58% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 39% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 477 |
| 2023/24 | 479 |
| 2024/25 | 475 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Varna Community Primary School compares
Varna Community Primary School ranked 118th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39% | 4.6% | 52.9% | 467 | — |
| Higher Openshaw Community School | 58% | 4% | 62.5% | 326 | 0.3 miles |
| St Clement's CofE Primary School | 58% | 4.7% | 63.2% | 240 | 0.4 miles |
| St James' CofE Primary School Gorton | 48% | 6.5% | 61.1% | 466 | 0.6 miles |
| St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy | 77% | 6.8% | 71.8% | 220 | 0.6 miles |
| Abbey Hey Primary Academy | 85% | 6% | 60.9% | 667 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 52.94%
- English as an additional language
- 56.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.61%
- Persistent absence
- 13.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Higher Openshaw Community School0.3 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Clement's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St James' CofE Primary School Gorton0.6 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Abbey Hey Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
Varna Community Primary School ranks 240th of the 252 ranked primary schools in Manchester.
- Abbey Hey Primary Academy Primary
- Abbott Community Primary School Primary
- Acacias Community Primary School Primary
- Acre Hall Primary School Primary
- Aldwyn Primary School Primary
- Alkrington Primary School Primary
- All Saints C of E Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand Primary
- All Saints Primary School Primary
- Alma Park Primary School Primary
- Armitage CofE Primary School Primary
- Ashbury Meadow Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Varna Community Primary School teach?
- Varna Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Varna Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Varna Community Primary School is Miss Karen Livesey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Varna Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Varna Community Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Varna Community Primary School?
- Varna Community Primary School has 467 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Varna Community Primary School full?
- Varna Community Primary School has capacity for 472 pupils and 467 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Varna Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Varna Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Varna Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Varna Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Varna Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 39% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Varna Community Primary School rank locally?
- Varna Community Primary School ranked 118th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Varna Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Varna Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Varna Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Varna Community Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.