When you walk into a classroom, lecture hall, or studio, you might notice the colours, the furniture, or even the lighting. But what about the sound? Acoustics are often overlooked, yet they play a huge role in how people feel and how effectively they learn. In fact, 80% of teachers report feeling stressed by classroom noise. A noisy, echoey space can be stressful and distracting, while a calm, well-designed environment helps students focus and teachers communicate with ease.

Why does it matter?

We’ve all experienced how difficult it is to concentrate in a noisy environment. For children and young people, poor acoustics can make learning harder, affect concentration, and even lead to fatigue. Teachers often find themselves raising their voices, which can cause strain and stress — something especially important to consider given that in a typical school of 1,000 students, around 150 may be neurodiverse.

BB93 was introduced to tackle exactly this issue. It helps to ensure that classrooms and learning spaces support clear communication, good concentration, and inclusivity for all students. For example, in a typical new-build classroom, the standard recommends an indoor ambient noise level of no more than 35 dB (LAeq over 30 minutes), rising to 40 dB in refurbishment projects. Open-plan teaching areas can tolerate slightly higher noise levels — up to 40 dB for new builds and 45 dB for refurbishments — while specialised music rooms, recital spaces, or recording studios have stricter limits to protect speech intelligibility and musical clarity. SEN teaching spaces are particularly sensitive, with limits as low as 30 dB to support students with hearing or communication needs — especially important when you consider that on any given day, 16% of children could be experiencing some level of hearing impairment.

These figures show that different spaces require different acoustic treatments — a one-size-fits approach simply won’t work.