Boarding Accommodation, Acton Burnell

Concord College, ranked among the UK’s top senior schools by Spear’s Schools Index, appointed us to build a new boarding residence on its historic 73-acre campus in Acton Burnell. Delivered as part of the College’s master development plan, the facility expands on-campus boarding capacity with modern, purpose-built accommodation for its international students.

The building provides 60 en-suite student bedrooms, plus self-contained living quarters for boarding parents and residential tutors. Accessibility was central to the layout, with three adapted ground-floor en-suite bedrooms positioned beside a platform lift for step-free access across all levels.

Full-height glazing maximises natural light in communal areas and maintains a strong connection to the outdoors. Externally, timber and zinc cladding complement the College’s traditional aesthetic and the surrounding Shropshire landscape. Soft landscaping, including extensive tree planting across an engineered three-metre bund, helps embed the building into the grounds. The scheme included 10 tree varieties, 1,000ft of hedging across 20 varieties, and 13,667 sq ft of seeding and turfing, with mature planting estimated to absorb 2,000kg of CO₂ annually.

Delivered under the Considerate Constructors Scheme, the project maintained strong environmental management and site safety standards throughout. Works were completed on an active campus with minimal disruption to daily academic, musical and sporting activities. To reduce the carbon footprint, 5,091 tonnes of excavated material was retained and reused on site to form the landscape bund, avoiding 425 haulage lorry journeys. Renewable energy was also incorporated through 48 solar panels installed on the sports hall roof.

You can find our more about the green credentials of this project here: Concord College Green Facts & Stats