Accessibility
Our site is designed to display correctly on all modern browsers, and uses valid XHTML and CSS to ensure that it displays correctly on all browsers. We have also made use of stylesheets which enable visitors to choose the style of the site they prefer. Four standard colour schemes and a high contrast large text version of the site are available. These can be selecting on the bar at the top of the page.
Resizing text
The way to change the text size differs between browsers. The list below shows the procedure for some popular browsers. If your browser isn't in the list, the following guidelines may help. In general, looking under the "View" menu, you will find an option called "text zoom", "text magnification", "text size", or "font size".
PC Windows
- Internet Explorer 3 and 4: View > Fonts
- Internet Explorer 5+: View > Text Size
- Firefox: View > Text Size > Increase/Decrease
- Mozilla: View > Increase Text Size/Decrease Text Size
- Netscape 6: View > Text Size
- Netscape 7: View > Text Zoom
- Opera 5 and 6: Use drop down menu on ‘progress’ bar
- Opera 7: View > Zoom
Mac operating systems
- Internet Explorer 4.5: View > Text Size
- Internet Explorer 5+: View > Text Zoom
- Netscape 4: View > Increase/Decrease Font Size
- Netscape 7: View > Text Zoom
- Opera 5 and 6: Use drop down menu on ‘progress’ bar
- Safari: View > Text Size.
'Skip' Links
We've included 'Skip Links' on each page (top right hand corner). These take you directly to either the page's main contents, or to the main pages of the site, depending on which link you choose. Skip links are particularly useful for those using text readers so that they can skip the navigation and go straight to the main content on a page.
Navigating the site without a mouse or pointing device
We don't use access keys on this site as access keys (keyboard shortcuts, usually used by pressing two or more keys to activate a link) can conflict with system keys, keyboard shortcuts, used by various browsers. It is possible to navigate our site though without the use of a mouse, by 'tabbing' between links using the 'TAB' key on your keyboard. Once a link is tabbed onto, it can be activated by pressing the 'enter' key. You can also use the TAB key to 'tab' down the fields in forms.
Navigation and ‘breadcrumb trails’
This site makes use of ‘breadcrumb trails’ like the one shown below. All of the pages of our site have these near the top of the page (just under the main heading. The bold page is the page that you are currently on.
You are here: Home > Accessibility
You can quickly return to previous pages by clicking on the links that show where you are in relation to other pages on the site. You can also access the breadcrumb links using the TAB key.