Accrington and Rossendale College — 11,000 lined and maths books built around college values and session targets

The brief

Accrington and Rossendale College came to us for a single book design that would sit with every learner across the college — somewhere to hold session notes, but also somewhere the college's expectations and targets framework would be in the student's hands from day one.
The college runs a wide spread of vocational and academic courses, so the book had to work for any subject. Two paper rulings were needed — lined for most courses and squared for maths — sharing the same cover and the same front matter.

What we designed

Working with the college's team, we built two books off one design — one lined, one maths — so a learner moving between subjects gets the same structure either way.
• A name, unit/topic and term review block on the inside cover, so the book identifies itself before a single note is taken.
• A SMART targets reference page spelling out Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely — paired with the college's own target-setting checklist covering English, maths, digital literacy, work experience hours and the Minimum Target Grade (MTG).
• A student agreement spread covering ID lanyards, attendance, British Values, the acceptable use policy, PPE and work placements — with name, course, signature and date so it's signed in the book itself.
• A repeating session page on every spread — date, topic, five learning outcomes with achieved / not achieved circles, targets for the session, then a footer for accuracy/spelling/grammar checks, key words, and key points and facts.
• An "Ideas page" on grid paper for rougher thinking — same in both the lined and maths versions.

The finished book

11,000 copies landed at the college in 2016 — 8,500 lined and 2,500 maths — enough to cover learners across the college's courses, with the student agreement and SMART targets reference now living in every learner's bag rather than as a separate handout.