Graduation is the highlight of the University Centre West Anglia year, where friends, families and academic staff come together to celebrate the achievements of our graduating students. 

The day will start at the College of West Anglia's King's Lynn campus with gowning taking place at the University Centre prior to the ceremony. 

UNIVERSITY CENTRE
College of West Anglia
Tennyson Avenue
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 2QW

Following gowning, graduands and guests will be required to make their way to King's Lynn Minster, situated in the historic surroundings of the Saturday Market Place, for their ceremony. 

KING'S LYNN MINSTER
Saturday Market Place
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 5DQ

08:00 to 09:30

• Graduands arrive at the University Centre for gowning and photography. 

09:30 to 10:30 

• Graduands and guests make their own way to King's Lynn Minster to be seated in alphabetical order with their course group. 

11:00 Ceremony 

• UcWA Graduation Ceremony will commence. Each graduand will be led onto the stage by their course director, will doff or raise their mortarboard in the direction of the college principal and an ARU academic, and will then be presented with a scroll by their course director, before leaving the stage and returning to their seat. 

Circa 12:15

• Ceremony closes. The Mayoral party, graduates and academic staff will leave King's Lynn Minster and process around the town centre before returning to the same location.

Circa 12:45 

• Graduates and their guests return to the College of West Anglia's King's Lynn campus, where refreshments and a buffet will be provided in the Hub on the ground floor of the Tower Block. 

15:00 Event closes

• All academic dress must be returned to Ede and ravenscroft in the University Centre by 16:00. 

HOW DO I ORDER MY TICKETS?
Graduands may be accompanied by a maximum of two guests. If you wish to attend the graduation ceremony, you must book a ticket for both yourself and your guests on our website. 

Graduand tickets are free of charge, guest tickets are £25 each. Due to the formality and length of the ceremony, children under 10 are not permitted to attend. 

Please have the below information to hand. 

• Student ID number (person code on student portal) 
• Contact details for both yourself and your guests

Please click here to order your tickets

• Please note that you must book a ticket for yourself if you're a graduand, and your guests, so we know that you are attending.
• You will be able to purchase a maximum of 2 guest tickets following your registration for your own attendance, via a link sent to you in your confirmation email. Please check your junk mail for this confirmation.

The closing date for booking tickets is Monday 2nd September 2024. We will then review capacity and any available guest tickets will be released. All graduands will receive an email when the additional tickets are released and will be available to purchase on a first come, first served basis.

HOW DO I COLLECT MY TICKETS?
We will not be sending out physical tickets. Both graduands and guests will confirm their attendance by registering at King's Lynn Minster on the day of the ceremony. 

Please note that graduands and guests still need to book their place in advance of the event. Any persons who turn up on the day without booking graduand or guest tickets via the website, will not be permitted entry to the event. 

WHAT DO I DO IF I'M UNABLE TO ATTEND THE CEREMONY?
If you have booked your place or a place for your guests, and one of your party is unable to attend, or if you'd like to change your guest details, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let us know so we are able to reallocate the place(s) or update guest details. 

A recording of the ceremony will be available for you to share with friends and family after the event. 

WHERE CAN I PARK?
Graduands and their guests can park at our King's Lynn campus for free. 
College of West Anglia
Tennyson Avenue
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 2QW

After gowning in the morning, graduands and their guests will need to make their own way to the King's Lynn Minster for the ceremony. Please note that this is approximately a 20-minute walk. 

The address for the graduation ceremony is:
King's Lynn Minster
Saturday Market Place
King's Lynn
PE30 5DQ.

If you or your guests would like to drive to the King's Lynn Minster, you can use one of the pay and display car parks located in the town. Click here to find a list of local car parks.

CAN I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN?
Ede and Ravenscroft offer a professional photography service and will be located in the University Centre before the ceremony, from 08:00. 

Individual portrait shots are available, as well as the opportunity to have photographs with your guests. For further information on the type of package Ede and Ravenscroft offer, please see their website. 

You can save time and money by pre-booking your graduation photography online at the same time as you book your academic dress. 

HOW DO I HIRE MY GOWN? 
Graduands are expected to wear academic dress during the graduation ceremony. This consists of a gown, hood and mortarboard. 

All gowns must be pre-ordered through Ede and Ravenscroft by Monday 30th September 2024. 

The total discounted online cost of dress hire for the day will be £46.00 (undergraduand dress) and £52.00 (postgraduate dress). 

Before you pre-order, please make sure you know:

• Your student ID number (person code on student portal) 
• Head circumference to pre-order your mortarboard. For your head circumference, measure around your head, one inch (2.5cm) above the eyebrow at the same level all the way around in cm or inches. 
• Height: Measure your height in feet and inches.
• Chest measurements: Measure your chest in cm or inches. 
• Your credit or debit card details

Information on how to take your measurements can be found on the Ede and Ravenscroft website during completion of the ordering process. 

PLEASE FOLLOW THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO ORDER YOUR ACADEMIC DRESS

• Visit: ucwa.ac.uk/graduation-gowns
• Enter institution name: University Centre West Anglia
• Enter your student ID, surname and preferred email address and click continue
• Please select your graduation ceremony time and date
• Select your award details and click submit. Please note that the correct award will already be pre-allocated and you only need to select the one option available to you. 
• Select 'Academic Dress' and submit your gown, hood and head measurements and 'add to bag' 
• Select 'Photography' if you'd like to arrange photography on the day at the University Centre West Anglia and 'add to bag' 
• Click proceed to checkout, check all of your details are correct, and checkout to pay for your academic dress and photography if required

Please note that booking academic dress or photography via Ede and Ravenscroft does not mean that you have booked your tickets to the gradaution ceremony. 

WHEN AND WHERE DO I COLLECT MY GOWN?
All graduands must collect their pre-ordered gowns on the morning of the ceremony. 

Gowning will take place from 8am onwards in the University Centre

University Centre
College of West Anglia
Tennyson Avenue
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 2QW

To collect your gown, you must have a copy of your gown hire reference number. You should have received this via an email confirming your order at the time of placing it, and a text message from Ede and Ravenscroft in the three days prior to your ceremony. 

Your academic dress must be returned to Ede and Ravenscroft at the University Centre by no later than 4pm on the same day. 

IS THERE A DRESS CODE?
It is important to remember that from the elbow down your arm will be visible against the gown, particularly if you're wearing a long-sleeved shirt, so you may want to wear a jacket or long sleeves underneath your robe. Although most gowns and hoods now have velcro, it's still a good idea to wear something with a buttoned front as it will help the hood neckband to sit better. It is recommended, but not essential, that you accompany your academic gown with either a suit, collared shirt and tie or a dress. 
You may find a supply of safety pins handy, as well as some hair grips to assist in holding your graduand cap or mortarboard in place. 

Subject to restrictions or changing circumstances, the procession will commence at King's Lynn Minster, along the High Street to just before M&S, where it will turn right on to Norfolk Street until it reaches Broad Street. It will turn right again and continue until it reaches Costa Coffee and turns right on to New Conduit Street, leading back to King's Lynn Minster after turning left back on to the High Street.