Varna Street School, main block

The main school building is constructed with an iron-work skeleton, brick piers and facing, and stone detailing. The school was designed in the Flemish Renaissance style and stands three storeys tall with a basement.

Plan and Layout

The buildings on the site are aligned east-north-east to west-south-west (referred to as east to west in this description). The main school is sub-rectangular in plan, with a central rectangular core featuring two rectangular-plan corner projections to the east, and a rectangular-plan projection to the south running north-south across its depth. The infants' school, caretaker's house and boundary walls are not included in the listing.

Exterior

The north and south elevations are roughly symmetrical, with the central core flanked by projecting pavilions. Six bays of the central section are visible to the north and seven to the south, separated by two-storey pilasters and chimney stacks.

The building has four corner pavilions. The central range to the west has been stepped forward to create a continuous facade. Three of the entrances are located via the pavilions, with the boys' entrance to the north and girls' entrance to the south. The south-west entrance sits to the right of the pavilion, stepped forward from the central range. Entrances feature triangulated pediments with triple windows, sandstone detailing and low-relief lettering above the doors reading 'BOYS' and 'GIRLS' as appropriate. The doors have been renewed, although the multi-paned overlights are original.

All elevations incorporate stone and stepped brick string courses, along with shaped parapets featuring Flemish gables, with the largest positioned above the entrances. Windows to the north and south core are three-light, containing sashes with a four-pane hopper above. Windows to the pavilions match this style, though those on the perimeters of the east and west elevations are single-light. Most are flat-headed, although first floor central core windows are set within segmental-headed recesses. The majority of windows are original, though some (mainly to the north-west) have been renewed sympathetically.

The central ranges to the east and west elevations are three bays wide and incorporate large oculi to the gables. The west oculus has been renewed, while that to the east features stained glass and wooden tracery designed to resemble Flemish gables. The east elevation retains its ground and first floor large multi-paned windows, separated by decorative pilasters. The first floor windows incorporate stained glass in their upper lights. The equivalent window openings to the west have been either fully or partially bricked up, though the pilasters survive. Due to the sloping site, basement windows are visible below and are similar in style.

Interior

The main block is designed around two central halls running east-west: one on the ground floor and another, originally double-height, on the first floor. A lightweight dropped ceiling has since been inserted into the first floor hall. A stage sits at the west end of each hall, accessed via stairs on either side. The ground floor stage has part-glazed partitions within the proscenium arch. The first floor stage houses original lighting control equipment and rigging. The first floor hall has a half-glazed partition dividing the space in two. The underside of the L-shaped balcony which overlooked the space is visible at the east end. Windows at the east end of both halls are divided by turned decorative mullions. The upper lights of the first floor windows contain stained glass featuring the city's arms and the Board's MSB monogram, along with Tudor rose motifs.

Classrooms flank the halls to the north and south. These are separated from the hall by fixed glazed screens and from each other by sliding glazed partitions. Classroom doors are half-glazed with brass finger plates and latches. Each classroom retains its corner fireplace. The halls originally had three fireplaces each; the chimney stacks survive though the fireplaces have been blocked. The halls incorporate patterned relief tiles to dado height on the solid walls, now painted over.

The corner pavilions house further classrooms, cloakrooms and concrete staircases with scrolled metal handrails. Two wooden corner cupboards containing wash basins and taps survive in the boys' stairwells. Cloakrooms retain ceiling plates with holes where poles supporting benches would have been placed. The second floor cloakroom in the north-east pavilion has a corner fireplace and a section of unpainted wall, exposing the original cream and brown tiles up to dado height. The original parquet floor is also exposed here. The pavilions have solid walls except for those facing the halls, which are glazed in their upper parts.

Some later partitions have been inserted, mainly in the north-east pavilion, though the original layout remains easily readable. Access has also been knocked through between the first floor south-west classroom and the adjacent teacher's room. A few classrooms have had suspended ceilings inserted. The majority of internal doors are original; those that have been renewed are mainly in the pavilions.

The second floor housed further classrooms and a teacher's room to the south, while the machine drawing room, art room, and a further cloakroom and teacher's room sat to the north. These rooms are accessed via corridors running on either side of the double-height hall, with tiles up to dado height and windows overlooking the hall space (both now painted over). The wall between the corridor and the art room to the north has been renewed, while those between the south corridor and its rooms are original glazed partitions. Walls between rooms on the south side of this floor are solid. The teacher's room to the west retains an elaborate corner sink with cast-iron dragon corbels.

All classrooms retain their corner fireplaces. The art room, which originally ran the length of the main core to the north, has had two later partitions inserted to divide the space, though its three corner fireplaces survive, as does the connected storage room with glazed partitions overlooking the north-east stairwell. The machine drawing room, housed within the north-west pavilion, retains its corner fireplace and numerous glazed partitions dividing the space into smaller units. A later partition has been inserted to the north to provide a washroom.

The west end of the hall space is floored over. Although this feature is not shown on plans, it may be original or early due to the matching segmental-headed door openings accessing the corridors. It also has a matching part-glazed partition overlooking the hall (now painted over), though this may have originated from the first floor stage. The east end houses the balcony which overlooked the first floor hall, featuring decorative scrolled and twisted wrought-iron balustrading. The oculus at this end retains its stained glass with foliage, geometric and Tudor rose designs, with projecting wooden tracery incorporating the shapes of Flemish gables. The arch-braced roof structure is visible, with iron cross beams on shaped corbels utilising decorative flower-shaped bolts and washers. A solid wood-panelled, ceiling-height partition lines up with the glazed partition separating the east and west sides of the hall on the first floor. Clerestory windows run the length of the hall on both sides.

The basement sits at the west end of the building, accessed via the north. It houses numerous rooms including the boiler room and coal room with chute, as well as rooms to the west divided from the corridor to the east by glazed partitions. One of these rooms has numerous sinks running along the west wall. All windows remain in situ, though often appear blocked externally.

Two dumb waiters run the height of the building: one to the south-east and one to the north-west. The former retains its machinery; the condition of the latter is not known, though it is presumed to survive.