The Students’ Union (SU) has revealed the results of its annual Access-a-Ball scheme, in which participating May Ball committees were ranked according to how accessible their events were.

Launched in 2020, the scheme seeks to improve accessibility for disabled students at the annual May Balls.

It supports May Ball committee presidents by providing a workbook of accessibility goals, broken down into categories such as physical access, signage and communication.

Depending on how many of these goals are met, participating events are awarded either a platinum, gold, silver or bronze certification.

On Monday (22/09), the SU announced that all participating events achieved a platinum certification – requiring at least 65% of criteria to be met. The highest score was achieved by Corpus May Ball, who met 94% of the goals.

However, only seven May Week events participated in this year’s scheme, with prominent events such as Trinity and Jesus May Balls not taking part.

Alongside Corpus May Ball, other participants included Pembroke May Ball, Magdalene May Ball, Newnham Garden Party, Murray Edwards Garden Party, St John’s May Ball, and King’s Affair.

Most achieved a score of 80% or above, apart from King’s Affair, which just passed the Platinum requirement by achieving a score of 66%.

Most also scored 100% on the ‘Physical access’ category. Achieving full points on the category required measures such as the provision of at least 80% step-free access, seating in every area, and lift and ramp access.

King’s fell short of the top result in this category due to not having the required 80% step-free access and not providing seating in all areas.

A spokesperson for King’s Affair commented: “As a Ball we have no control over this [step-free access]. The only space that does not have step-free access is the King’s Bunker, an underground bunker that is only accessible with a narrow staircase. Overall we strive to be as accessible as feasibly possible, offering portable ramps etc.

“For the first year, I hired an accessibility officer, which had their own access email specifically for access arrangements. This I would recommend to other May Balls as it helps to have a designated point of contact when arranging accessibility.”

In the communication section, many events scored lower, including Murray Edwards, Newnham, and St John’s, as they only released access statements after tickets had already sold out.

Meanwhile, King’s Affair, Magdalene, Pembroke, and St John’s lost points for not including alt-text in all social media posts.

This comes after the scheme was criticised in March by the May Ball Presidents Committee. At the time, a member of the committee claimed that the delayed launch of the scheme had meant many balls were “left hanging”.

It also comes following a difficult year for many May Week events, with the cancellation or downsizing of balls such as Robinson and Clare, as well as Emmanuel College’s June Event.

Many balls cited low ticket sales as a reason for cancellation, while a Varsity investigation found that many students have struggled to justify the cost of attending.

A spokesperson for Trinity May Ball told Varsity, “Trinity May Ball is dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of all attendees, including those with a disability.

“We are grateful to have worked with members of the Disabled Students’ Campaign during the 2024-25 academic year and for their guidance during their training, where representatives from the 2025 Committee were in attendance.

“The 2026 Committee is looking forward to working closely with the Cambridge SU and other Committees in ensuring all events are accessible,” they continued.

St John’s May Ball, Jesus May Ball, Newnham Garden Party and Murray Edwards Garden Party were also contacted for comment.