Following a Strategic Area review in 2006 it was established that Rochdale would greatly benefit from a dedicated Sixth Form College to help retain students within the borough and support the forthcoming Building Schools for the Future Programme. This in turn led to a competition for the establishment of a new Institution in early 2007 and seven were appointed by the Rochdale Education Partnership/ Learning and Skills Council to undertake detailed curriculum modelling exercises and prepare proposals for first new Sixth Form College to be established in England since Longley Park in 2004. The scheme is situated on the bank of the River Roch, just outside the town centre and will complement the adjacent Hopwood Hall F.E College in creating a Learning Quarter for the town. Its location offers significant presence and a memorable ‘gateway’ into Rochdale. The 6-storey building provides over 8,000m2 of general and specialist accommodation including a state-of-the-art science lab suite, a theatre, dance and drama studios, art studios and media labs and a wide variety of flexible, teaching and learning environments, all supported by the latest in collaborative technology. Social cafe and breakout spaces have been provided at ground floor and at roof level, with the inclusion of a roof terrace, offering students and staff a choice of social environment during breaks from focused teaching. The roof terrace also serves to visually connect the College with the town centre and offers stunning views of the Grade I Listed Town Hall. A sculptural timber-clad staircase rises through the top-lit central atrium space, greatly aiding user orientation and creating a dramatic heart to the college. This arrangement also allows for flexible zoning of the building for varying access requirements over the day and year. Externally, the building derives its form and materiality from the region’s great mill buildings, once the engines behind Rochdale’s textile industry. By drawing upon this building typology, the College’s architecture is rooted in its local context. This regular, gridded structure also reflects the need for the building to be flexible and adaptable internally, which it has proved to be in absorbing the multiple brief changes by the numerous stakeholder and Client bodies during the College’s establishment. Shallow building form and generous glazing offer a well day-lit plan and through the incorporation of a high performance envelope, air-source heat-pumps, rainwater recycling, solar water heating, photovoltaics and a green roof the building is BREEAM EXCELLENT rated.