A Cambridge College has scrapped its lavish May Ball, breaking tradition in favour of hosting a 'more accessible and inclusive' event instead.

With tickets to the previously annual Ball setting students back as much as £270, Robinson College has made the move to replace the extravagant end-of-year bash with an 'alternative' event which it hopes will appeal to more students.

Robinson College, which is Cambridge's newest college having been founded in 1977, will now hold a 'mega bop' in June in place of the May Ball.

This new event will retain the original Ball's 'film noir' theme, but will see tickets made available to all Cambridge University undergraduates at much cheaper prices. 

It is believed that the May Ball has struggled in recent years to attract Cambridge students, with the lofty £270 ticket prices turning off many young people as they endure increased living costs.

Ticket sales were in fact so poor in 2019 that the event was cancelled altogether. 

A statement on the Robinson May Ball committee's social media said that the decision had been made to cancel this year's event to 'ensure as many students as possible' can enjoy the college's new 'mega bop'. 

Speaking to the Varsity student newspaper, a spokesperson for the committee added: 'Rising costs have been affecting all balls in recent years, as have lower ticket sales. We therefore took the decision to change our event to a more accessible one at this point to ensure we could organise the best possible alternative'.

Cambridge's May Balls are a tradition which stretches back almost two centuries.

Originating back to the 1830's, the Balls were thought to have stemmed from celebrations surrounding the May Bumps, an annual rowing race held on the River Cam.

Over recent years, a number of other Cambridge institutions have begun to offer May Ball alternatives for students who struggle to afford the pricey entrance fee.

This has seen smaller events held at the beginning of June which offer undergraduates cheaper ticketing options. 

Despite the ostensible benefit of saving students money, some have criticised the decision to cancel this year's May Ball.

One disgruntled student wrote on the event's Facebook page: 'Sacrificing a proper May Ball doesn't make sense. There should just be proper mechanisms in place for accessible tickets, with support from the college.

'Robinson's always been one of the university's cheapest balls and ditching it will actually mean many students won't be able to access a May Ball at all'.

However, others have defended the move, including former May Ball treasurer Max Harvey who said that the organising committee receives 'no assistance from the college', which makes 'achieving adequate ticket prices always difficult'. 

Harvey added: 'The decision to not hold a full May Ball this year will not have been taken lightly by the committee and most likely the decision will have been heavily encouraged by the college based upon ticket sales in previous years'.

Robinson College has been approached for comment by the MailOnline.