Style guide
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This content design guide is constantly being updated and improved.
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Contents
Dates and times
Dates
Dates are written in the following format:
25 January 2018.
Never prefix a date with the word “the”, and always cut out th/nd/rd/st next to the numbers, for example 25 January not 25th. The only exception to this is centuries which should use the affix, for example 21st century.
Times
Times are written in the following format:
8am
8:30am
Times are written without a space between the figure and am or pm. Do not put zeros after an hour (8:00am), as this does nothing but take up more space.
Use a colon rather than a full stop between the hour and minutes - 8:30am, not 8.30am.
Do not write in the 24-hour clock style (such as 14:00).
Midday and midnight
Use “midday” and “midnight” rather than 12pm and 12am.
Be wary that “midnight” could be interpreted two ways: 11:59pm or 12am. For example, “you must apply by 11:59pm” is more specific than “you must apply by midnight”.
Last updated 23 July 2025