Contractor delivers boarding house for historic school

Construction specialist Stepnell has completed work on a new boarding house for 60 students at Rugby School.

Rugby-headquartered Stepnell has handed over the three-storey building at the school’s Collingwood Centre. The boarding space provides 60 en-suite study bedrooms for students as well as communal rooms and accommodation for the housemaster, assistant housemaster and matron.

Designed by GSSArchitecture, the facility is the first purpose-built boarding house created at the school for more than 70 years.

Rugby School’s estates manager Judith Robinson said: ““It was important the house would be easy to manage and have sustainability and energy efficiency at its core. The plans GSS Architecture produced exactly and beautifully captured that vision, and it has been so exciting to watch our construction partners, Stepnell, bringing those plans to life during the last year.”

“Rugby’s boarding house system plays a crucial role in the exceptional pastoral care provided to students,” said Stepnell construction director Bill Haynes. “It’s been a privilege to work on this project and the fact that we are based locally makes it even more special to us.”

The new boarding house is the latest in a series of schemes which Stepnell has delivered for Rugby School, including an extension to the sports hall and a refurbishment project for the science schools.