Website Accessibility

Accessibility statement for Boston Grammar School

This accessibility statement applies to www.bostongrammarschool.co.uk.

This website is run by Boston Grammar School. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings.
Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen.
Navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software.
Listen to most of the website using a screen reader.

We've also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We have taken steps to ensure that our website is accessible to as many people as possible:

Responsive Design: Our website is designed to work on various devices and screen sizes, including desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Text Readability: We use clear, legible fonts and sufficient colour contrast to enhance readability.
Visual Overlay: To make our website more inclusive, we provide you with the option to enable a colour overlay to reduce visual stress and support visual processing differences. (Note that this is a supplemental choice for user preference; the core site remains the focus of our accessibility compliance).
Keyboard Navigation: On our website you can use the Tab key to navigate, Enter/Space to select and Esc to close menus.
Accessible Video: We include frame titles, captioning and transcriptions on our video content where appropriate so people using assistive technology can access the information.
Accessible Labels: Our website elements contain internal labels and instructions for screen readers.
Skip Links: We have provided "skip links" at appropriate points for screen readers and keyboard-only users to skip to the main content, main navigation bar, and back to the top of the page.

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text.
You cannot pause the animation of the home page slider (carousel).
File downloads, including PDF documents, may not be fully accessible to all screen reader software.

Feedback and contact information

If you encounter any accessibility barriers or have suggestions to improve your experience, please contact us:

Email: enquiries@bostongrammarschool.co.uk
Phone: 01205 366444
Mailing Address: Boston Grammar School, Rowley Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6JY

When reporting an issue, please include:

The webpage or feature you experienced difficulties with.
Your contact information (optional, if you would like a response).

Boston Grammar School values diversity and inclusion and is committed to providing an accessible online experience for all members of our community. Your feedback is essential in helping us achieve this goal.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the 'accessibility regulations'). If you're not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Boston Grammar School is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance Status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the exemption listed below.

School exemption

Primary and secondary schools or nurseries - except for the content people need in order to use their services, for example, a form that lets you outline school meal preferences.

Technical Requirements

This website requires JavaScript to be enabled in your browser to function correctly, including for the operation of our security gateway and interactive elements like menus and tabs. If you have JavaScript disabled, you may be unable to access parts of this website. If this prevents you from accessing our information, please contact us and we will provide the information through an alternative format.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Text spacing: We cannot guarantee that all content will remain fully readable if a user overrides the default text spacing (such as increasing line height or letter spacing). In some areas, this may cause text to overlap or become clipped by its container. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.12 (Text Spacing).
File downloads: Some documents, including PDFs, may not be fully accessible (for example, they may lack a logical reading order or tagged headings). This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
Images: We endeavour to ensure that, where needed, we include alternative text for any images. If any images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information, we will rectify this if notified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
Video: We endeavour to ensure that, where needed, we include frame titles, captioning and transcriptions for any videos. If any videos do not have a frame title, captions or transcriptions, so people using assistive technology cannot access the information, we will rectify this if notified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.2.1 (Audio-only and Video-only - Prerecorded), 1.2.2 (Captions - Prerecorded) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
Links: We endeavour to ensure that, where needed, we include appropriate use of links and ensure that links are descriptive. If any links are not descriptive, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information, we will rectify this if notified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose - In Context).
Tables: We endeavour to ensure that, where needed, tables to ensure they have the appropriate headings set. If any tables do not have defined headings, so people using a screen reader or keyboard navigation cannot access the information, we will rectify this if notified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
Brand colours: We endeavour to ensure that our brand colours meet the contrast ratio for the corresponding text size. If any text does not meet the contrast ratio, so people with visual impairments cannot access the information, we will rectify this if notified. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast - Minimum).
Homepage Slider: We have improved the accessibility of our homepage slider by adding screen reader labels to the navigation dots. However, the slider currently auto-plays without a manual pause button or a focus-triggered stop. This may make it difficult for some users to read content before it changes. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.2 (Pause, Stop, Hide).
Security Gateway: Parts of our website may be protected by automated security systems to verify that requests are made by human users rather than bots. These "passive" security measures require JavaScript to verify your browser. Users with certain assistive technology configurations or those who have disabled JavaScript may be blocked from accessing protected pages. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.8 (Accessible Authentication).

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are continually working to improve the accessibility of our website by:

Making ongoing improvements to screen reader accessibility.
Working to make our homepage slider more accessibile to all users.
User feedback: We will incorporate feedback from users to enhance accessibility.
Keeping up-to-date: We will endeavour to keep up to date with evolving accessibility standards and best practices.

Third-party content

While we aim to ensure all content on our website is accessible, some third-party materials or linked resources may not fully meet accessibility standards. We encourage you to contact us if you have difficulties accessing external content.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 30/01/2025. This statement was last updated on 29/03/2026 and is reviewed annually.

This website was last tested on 29/03/2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. Testing of a representative sample of pages was carried out internally using a combination of automated testing tools and manual assessment.