Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 5 April 2026

Welcome to The Oxford Essay. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website, register for The Oxford Essay Competition, or enrol in our educational services (such as LNAT Test Preparation and Research & Writing tutorials).

The Oxford Essay is operated by The Oxchange Ltd (UK Company #15574889), located at 5 Elstree Gate, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, WD6 1JD. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, The Oxchange Ltd is the "data controller" of your personal information.

We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you or your child, which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data: Includes student first name, last name, date of birth, and nationality.
  
• Contact Data: Includes the student's personal e-mail, student's school e-mail, and parent/guardian's e-mail.
  
• Academic Data: Includes the name of the student's school, location of the school, current grade level (year/grade), name of teacher or counselor, and teacher/counselor email. It also includes any essays, statements of interest, and academic work submitted to us.
  
• Financial Data: Includes payment card details and billing addresses used to purchase our LNAT test prep services, writing tutorials, or competition entry fees. (Note: We use secure third-party payment processors and do not store your full credit card details on our servers).
• Technical & Usage Data: Includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser types, time zone settings, and information about how you use our website and services.

We use different methods to collect data from and about you, including through:

• Direct Interactions: You may give us your Identity, Contact, and Academic Data by filling in application forms, registering for a course, submitting an essay, or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise.
• Automated Technologies: As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns using cookies and similar technologies.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• To register you as a new student or competition entrant.
• To process and evaluate your submission for The Oxford Essay Competition.
• To deliver 1:1 LNAT tutorials, small group classes, and related educational materials.
• To manage our relationship with you, including notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy.
• To process payments, manage billing, and collect fees owed to us.
• To communicate assessment results, scholarship offers, and opportunities regarding The Oxford IQ Academy.
  

Because our services are designed for pre-university students (specifically ages 13 to 18), we take the protection of children's data very seriously.

• We require the name and email address of a parent or legal guardian for all applicants.
  
• We require a signed declaration from a parent or legal guardian giving full consent for the application and confirming the accuracy of the provided information before assessing any scholarship offers or placements.
  
• We will not knowingly collect or market to children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent.

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with the following trusted third parties strictly for the purposes set out in Section 4:

• Faculty and Tutors: Our academic review panel and tutors require access to your Academic and Identity Data to evaluate essays and deliver personalised instruction.
• Service Providers: Third-party IT, website hosting (e.g., GoDaddy), email marketing, and payment processing companies that provide essential infrastructure for our business.
• Legal and Regulatory Authorities: We may disclose data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. Access to your personal data is limited to those employees, agents, contractors, and faculty who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and are subject to a strict duty of confidentiality.

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements. Unsuccessful essay submissions may be deleted after the conclusion of the competition cycle, while data pertaining to enrolled tutorial students will be kept for the duration of their educational engagement and for a standard required period thereafter for financial auditing.

Under the UK GDPR, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data, including the right to:

• Request access to your personal data.
• Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
• Request erasure of your personal data.
• Object to processing of your personal data.
• Request restriction of processing your personal data.
• Request the transfer of your personal data.
• Withdraw consent at any time.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at: The Oxchange Ltd5 Elstree Gate, Elstree Way Borehamwood, Hertfordshire United Kingdom, WD6 1JD Email: oxfordessay@oxford-iq.academy