3.5
The Great Hall, University of Leeds
The Great Hall hosts all University of Leeds graduation ceremonies, and I have been both as a graduate, and a guest at someone else’s graduation.
The disabled access into the hall is via the Clothworkers Yard, to the left of the main entrance. On graduation days going to the main entrance and displaying your ticket will prompt a porter to escort you to this entrance. The paving stones in this yard have one or two small protruding edges, but mostly provide smooth access to the button-operated automatic door. The corridor leading from the door to the lift, and from the lift to hall is narrow and it can be difficult to manoeuvre around corners.
The lift door swings outwards, so you cannot position yourself opposite the door as you wait for it to arrive. It is just large enough for one wheelchair user and one standing person to fit into. At the top the lift door also swings outwards, and there is a pillar to the right of the lift. There is room to manoeuvre, but it is tight and a little awkward. The entrance into the hall is double doors, which are propped open until everyone has entered the hall. Once in the hall, chairs can be moved to accommodate wheelchairs as needed. There is one seating area on an inaccessible mezzanine level at the back of the room, but everything else is accessible.
There is a lift on one side of the stage that allows disabled graduates to collect their certificates and have their photo taken just like the able-bodied students, but if preferred the certificate can simply be passed to you from the stage by a porter.
The Great Hall hosts all University of Leeds graduation ceremonies, and I have been both as a graduate, and a guest at someone else’s graduation.
The disabled access into the hall is via the Clothworkers Yard, to the left of the main entrance. On graduation days going to the main entrance and displaying your ticket will prompt a porter to escort you to this entrance. The paving stones in this yard have one or two small protruding edges, but mostly provide smooth access to the button-operated automatic door. The corridor leading from the door to the lift, and from the lift to hall is narrow and it can be difficult to manoeuvre around corners.
The lift door swings outwards, so you cannot position yourself opposite the door as you wait for it to arrive. It is just large enough for one wheelchair user and one standing person to fit into. At the top the lift door also swings outwards, and there is a pillar to the right of the lift. There is room to manoeuvre, but it is tight and a little awkward. The entrance into the hall is double doors, which are propped open until everyone has entered the hall. Once in the hall, chairs can be moved to accommodate wheelchairs as needed. There is one seating area on an inaccessible mezzanine level at the back of the room, but everything else is accessible.
There is a lift on one side of the stage that allows disabled graduates to collect their certificates and have their photo taken just like the able-bodied students, but if preferred the certificate can simply be passed to you from the stage by a porter.
