ACCESSIBILITY

To make our website easy to view, we have designed it in accordance with guidelines set out by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

Browsers
The website can be viewed across a wide range of browsers.

We recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 6.0 and above or Firefox V1.5 or above to take full advantage of all our website's facilities.

The site will also work with the Gecko based family of browsers including Mozilla and Netscape versions 6 - 7.

The site is optimised for a screen resolution of 800 x 600.

Changing browser settings to suit you :-

 Internet Explorer

Font size and colour
To ensure that website fonts and colours are optimised for accessibility:

  • On the 'Tools' menu, click 'Internet Options'
  • On the 'General' tab, click on 'Accessibility'
  • Click in each of the three boxes to show ticks
  • Click 'OK'

Changing font
Text in a font such as Arial is easier to read than one such as Times New Roman. To change the text font:

  • On the 'Tools' menu, click 'Internet Options'
  • On the 'General' tab, click 'Fonts'
  • In the 'Web page font' and 'Plain text font' lists, choose the fonts you would like to use
  • Click 'OK'

Enlarging text

  • On the 'Tools' menu, click 'Internet Options'
  • On the 'General' tab, click 'Accessibility'
  • Tick the 'Ignore font sizes specified on web pages' check box
  • Click 'OK'
  • On the 'View' menu click 'Text Size'
  • Choose the size of text

Changing font and background colours
As a result of the fonts, typefaces and background colours used in web page design, you may find some text difficult to read. You can however choose settings to suit you. A distinct contrast can be achieved using black text on a yellow background. To change the text and background colours:

  • On the 'Tools' menu, click 'Internet Options'
  • On the 'General' tab, click 'Colours'
  • Deselect the 'Use Windows Colours' tick box
  • Select the box next to 'Text' and choose a colour
  • Click 'OK'
  • Select the box next to 'Background' and choose a colour
  • Click 'OK'

To prevent graphics from appearing on web pages:

  • On the 'Tools' menu, click 'Internet Options'
  • On the 'Advanced' tab, scroll down to the 'Multimedia' heading
  • Click on the graphics options ('animations', 'videos', 'pictures' and 'images') to remove the ticks
  • Click on 'Apply', and then click on 'OK'
  • Should graphics still appear, select 'View' then 'Refresh' from the toolbar, or press F5.

To change the size of the window:

  • Click 'View' then 'Full Screen' from the toolbar, or press F11

There are other options to tailor web pages that help make them easier to read. These may be found under the 'Tools' menu

  • Click on 'Internet Options'
  • Select the 'Advanced' tab
  • Choose from the options available to improve visibility

For Netscape Communicator
To make any changes to your browser settings, you should first open the 'Preferences' box by clicking on 'Edit' and selecting 'Preferences'. You may then choose to make any of the changes listed below.

To change the text font:

  • Click on 'Appearance'
  • Click 'Font'
  • Choose the 'Variable Width Font' and 'Fixed Width Font' you want to use
  • Click 'OK'
  • If you want to set these fonts for all future usage on your browser, click on 'Use my default fonts overriding document specified fonts'.

To change the text and background colours:

  • Click on 'Appearance'
  • Click 'Colours'
  • Select the box next to 'Text' and choose a colour
  • Click 'OK'
  • Select the box next to 'Background' and choose a colour
  • Click 'OK'
  • Click 'OK' again to close 'Preferences'
  • To set these colours as your browser default, click on 'Always use my colours, overriding document'.

To prevent images from loading on web pages:

  • Select 'Advanced'
  • Click in the box marked 'Automatically load images' to remove the tick
  • Click 'OK'

For further assistance in changing your browser settings, there is also a 'Help' menu on your browser toolbar. Please refer to this for further information.