Accessibility Statement

We want this site to be usable by everyone, including people using a keyboard only, a screen reader, magnification, or a browser configured to reduce motion. This page records what we have actually built, what we know is still imperfect, and how to tell us when we get it wrong.

1. What we are aiming at

We target WCAG 2.1 Level AA. We assess the site ourselves against those criteria; it has not been audited by an external body, so we describe this as a target we work to rather than a certified conformance claim.

2. What is implemented

Keyboard

• A "skip to main content" link is the first focusable element on the page.
• Every interactive control — navigation, filters, accordions, the course dialog, both forms — is reachable and operable by keyboard.
• Focus is shown with a visible 3px outline that meets contrast requirements, and we never remove focus indicators.
• Escape closes the course dialog, the language menu and the mobile menu.
• When a form is submitted with errors, focus moves to the first field that needs attention.

Screen readers

• Every section is a landmark with an accessible name, and headings follow a logical order.
• All images carry alt text. Decorative shapes and icons are marked aria-hidden so they are not announced.
• Every form field has a real associated <label>. Errors are linked to their field with aria-describedby and flagged with aria-invalid.
• Success messages are announced through a live region.
• The accordion and the language menu expose their state with aria-expanded.
• The course dialog uses role="dialog" with aria-modal and a label.

Motion, colour and text

• If your system requests reduced motion, all entrance animations, transitions and smooth scrolling are disabled. Nothing is hidden as a result — the reveal effect only ever hides content when animation is running.
• Body text is set at 16px or above and reflows without horizontal scrolling down to 320px.
• Text can be zoomed to 200% without loss of content or function; we do not block pinch zoom.
• A high-contrast mode is honoured through prefers-contrast.
• Colour is never the only way information is conveyed — errors also carry text.
• Interactive targets on touch devices are at least 44×44px.

Without JavaScript

• The site renders a complete text version of every section — programmes, admissions, internships, FAQ and contact details — when JavaScript is unavailable or fails to load. You lose the interactive filtering, not the information.

3. Known limitations

Being honest about what is not perfect is more useful than claiming it is:

• The contact email address is an image. It carries descriptive alt text explaining that it is an address shown as an image, but a screen reader cannot read out the address itself. This is a deliberate trade-off against automated spam harvesting. If you need the address in text form, ask us on WhatsApp and we will send it to you directly.
• The course dialog does not trap focus. Focus can currently move behind the open dialog. Escape closes it, and we intend to add a focus trap.
• Date fields use the native browser date picker, whose accessibility varies between browsers. You can always type the date directly instead.
• Some decorative gradient text (the coloured part of section headings) is rendered with a background-clip technique. It falls back to a solid accessible colour in high-contrast mode, but may render differently in older browsers.
• The site has not been tested with every assistive technology combination in use.

4. Telling us about a barrier

If something on this site stops you doing what you came to do, we want to know — it is the fastest way for us to fix it. Message us on WhatsApp and describe what you were trying to do, what happened, and what you were using (browser, device, assistive technology) if you know.

We aim to acknowledge accessibility reports within 5 working days and to tell you what we intend to do about it.

If a page is unusable for you, we will always give you the same information another way. Ask us and we will send it, or talk you through it.

5. How this was assessed

Self-assessment, carried out during development, covering keyboard-only operation, programmatic label and landmark checks, image alternative text, reduced-motion behaviour, reflow at narrow widths, and rendering with JavaScript disabled.