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WEBSITE DISCLAIMER / COOKIE POLICY

This policy explains how the Royal Hospital School (“the School”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects and uses information through your use of our website.

For full details about how we process personal data, please also refer to our Privacy Notices, which describe our lawful bases for processing and your data protection rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

 

(1) About This Website and User Responsibilities

Our website takes a proactive approach to protecting user privacy and complies with all relevant UK laws and regulations. By using this website, you acknowledge the terms of this policy, including how your information may be collected, stored, or processed.

Users are encouraged to exercise caution when interacting with the website, submitting personal information, or clicking external links. Your use of this website is entirely at your own discretion and risk.

(2) Information We Collect When You Use Our Website 

(2.1) Technical Data

When you visit our website, we may collect certain information automatically when you visit our website, including:

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type and operating system
  • Referral source (how you arrived at our site)
  • Date, time, and duration of visit
  • Number of page views and navigation paths
  • Cookie identifiers and device identifiers

(2.2) Information You Provide

You may submit personal data to us voluntarily, for example through:

  • Details submitted through online enquiry forms, registration forms, or applications
  • Subscriptions to newsletters, updates, or mailing lists
  • Any other information you voluntarily send to us via our website

(2.3) Transactional Information

We may process information relating to interactions or transactions carried out through our website.

(3) Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies (including tags, pixels, and tracking scripts). Cookies help us improve your experience, analyse website performance, and manage our digital communications.  Cookies are small text files stored on your device that track, save, and store information about your interactions with the website. Cookies may be set by us (“first-party cookies”) or by approved third parties (“third-party cookies”).

We categorise cookies as follows:

Essential (Strictly Necessary) Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function—for example, enabling security, content delivery, and form submission. They do not require consent.

Functional Cookies

These enhance website usability and remember your preferences. These require consent.

Analytics Cookies

We use analytics cookies (including Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use the site, improve performance, and monitor trends. These cookies are not essential and are only set with your consent.

Advertising & Social Media Cookies

Where used, these cookies help personalise digital advertising, measure campaign effectiveness, and enable social media features. These will only activate if you consent.

(3.1) Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to monitor website usage and improve our services.
Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information such as:

  • Pages visited
  • Time spent on pages
  • Browser and device details
  • Referrer URLs
  • No personal information is stored in these cookies.  The data generated may be transferred outside the UK. This processing only occurs with your explicit consent. Google’s privacy information is available at:

https://policies.google.com/privacy

You may opt out at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences on our website.

(3.2) Third-Party Cookies from External Vendors

Some cookies may be set by external providers when the website uses:

  • Referral programmes
  • Sponsored links
  • Advertisements
    These cookies are mainly used for conversion and referral tracking and typically expire within 30 days. No personal information is stored.

(3.3) Cookie Consent and Management

When you visit the website for the first time, you can choose whether to accept or reject non-essential cookies.

  • Essential cookies are set automatically.
  • Others require your consent.
    You may change your preferences at any time using:
  • The cookie banner
  • Your browser settings

Please note: Blocking some cookies may affect website functionality.

(4) How We Use Your Personal Data 

Personal data collected via our website may be used to:

  • Administer and maintain the website
  • Personalise content and improve user experience
  • Respond to enquiries or provide requested services
  • Send newsletters or marketing communications (only with your opt in consent)
  • Analyse usage to support improvements and generate anonymised statistical insights
  • Support security, fraud prevention, and system integrity

We do not pass on personal information to third parties without your consent unless required by law.

(5) Contact, Communication & User Submissions

Submitting personal information to us via forms, email, or other methods is entirely voluntary and done at your own discretion.

The School:

  • Stores personal data securely
  • Retains data only as long as necessary
  • Takes reasonable measures to ensure safe transmission of form‑to‑email submissions
    However, users acknowledge that transmission of information over the internet is not completely secure.

Any information submitted may be used to:

  • Provide additional information about our services
  • Respond to enquiries
  • Register you for newsletters (only with express permission)

(6) External Links 

Although we work to include only safe and relevant external links, we cannot guarantee the content, privacy, or security of third‑party websites. Users click external links at their own risk. The School cannot be held responsible for damages or consequences resulting from visiting external websites.  

(7) Social Media Platforms 

Interactions through social media platforms are governed by the terms and privacy policies of those platforms.
Users should:

  • Exercise caution when sharing personal information
  • Avoid submitting sensitive data via social media
  • Use official communication channels (email or telephone) for confidential matters

Our website may include social sharing buttons. Use of these tools is at your discretion, and the respective platform may track your sharing activity.

(7.1) Shortened Links

URLs shared via social media platforms may be shortened. While we aim to share only genuine links, shortened URLs can be prone to abuse. Users should exercise caution before clicking.

(8) Disclosures of Your Information & Cyber Security 

We may disclose information where required:

  • By law or regulation
  • In connection with legal proceedings
  • To establish, exercise, or defend legal rights
  • For fraud prevention or security monitoring

(8.1) Cyber Security and Law Enforcement

As part of our security measures, we share metadata relating to suspicious network traffic with Suffolk Constabulary.
Shared metadata may include:

  • Source and destination IP addresses
  • Date/time of access
  • Packet header information
    It does not include any communication content.

Subject Access Requests regarding this data require the relevant IP address and date/time.

(9) Updating Your Information 

If the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or requires updating, please let us know using the contact details below.

 

(10) Policy Updates

We may amend this policy from time to time. Significant changes, particularly those affecting our use of cookies, will prompt the cookie banner to re‑appear so you can review and update your preferences.

(11) Contact Details

If you have any questions about this policy or our use of personal data, please contact:

The Chief Operating Officer
Royal Hospital School
Holbrook
Suffolk
IP9 2RX

Email: coo@royalhospitalschool.org

March 2026