Private school plans more new buildings

A new dining hub is among the planned developments

A private boarding school in south Shropshire has outlined further plans to redevelop its campus.

Concord College wants to demolish two buildings on its site in Acton Burnell and replace them with improved dining and boarding blocks.

It is part of a masterplan announced in 2023 to replace a number of outdated buildings.

Shropshire Council, which earlier this year approved a boarding house and sports facilities, will consider the plans in due course.

The two new buildings are a dining hub on the site of the existing West End building, and girls' boarding accommodation replacing Elisabeth House.

Planning documents supporting the application argued: "Although Concord College is a highly successful and prestigious school, some of its facilities such as the Dining Hall fail to reflect this."

Elisabeth House is one of the existing buildings facing demolition

The statement added the dining hub would "form the social heart of the campus", providing a place for students to meet, chat and socialise.

It said the new boarding house would replace a building which was "sub-standard by modern expectations in the sector, and non-compliant with new regulations in regard to safeguarding".

The wider Concord College campus includes Grade II listed Acton Burnell Hall, Grade I listed Acton Burnell Castle, and the Grade I listed Church of St Mary.

The college said elements of the scheme had been redesigned following advice from Historic England, and that views of and from the key buildings had been considered.

The proposals come against a backdrop of government plans to charge VAT on private school fees, which the sector claimed had cut the number of pupils starting in schools this September.

Another Shropshire school, Bedstone College, announced plans to raise fees for foreign students while cutting them for those from the UK.