English College London Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 31, 2025

At English College London, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information of our students, prospective students, parents/guardians, and website visitors. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you interact with us, whether through our website, in-person at our school, or through other services we provide.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect various types of personal information, depending on your interaction with us:

• Contact Information: Name, address, email address, phone number.
• Demographic Information: Date of birth, nationality, gender (optional), spoken languages.
• Enrollment Information: Course preferences, language proficiency levels, previous language learning experience, emergency contact details.
• Payment Information: Billing address, credit card details (processed securely by third-party payment processors – we do not store full credit card numbers).
• Academic Information: Progress reports, attendance records, assessment results.
• Health Information (where relevant): Any medical conditions or allergies you disclose for safety or accommodation purposes.
• Website Usage Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, time spent on our site. This information is typically collected through cookies and similar technologies.
• Communication Content: Records of your correspondence with us (e.g., emails, chat messages).
• Photographs/Videos: With explicit consent, for promotional materials or school activities.

2. How We Collect Your Information

We collect information from you in several ways:

• Directly from you: When you fill out an enrollment form, register for a course, contact us via email or phone, participate in surveys, or attend events.
• Through our website: When you browse our website, fill out online forms, or use our online services.
• From third parties: Such as educational agents or partners, with your consent.
• Automatically: Through cookies and other tracking technologies when you visit our website.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

To provide language courses and services:

• Processing your enrollment and registration.
• Managing your course schedule and attendance.
• Assessing your language proficiency and progress.
• Communicating with you about your studies.
• Providing support and pastoral care.

For administrative and operational purposes:

• Processing payments and issuing invoices.
• Maintaining student records.
• Ensuring the safety and security of our students and premises.
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations.
• Managing our relationship with you.

For communication and marketing:

• Responding to your inquiries and requests.
• Sending you important updates about our school and courses.
• With your consent, sending you promotional materials, newsletters, and information about new courses or events that may be of interest to you. You can opt-out of marketing communications at any time.

For website improvement and analytics:

• To understand how our website is used and to improve its functionality and content.
• To personalize your experience on our website.

For research and development:

• To improve our teaching methodologies and course offerings.
• To analyze trends and demand for language learning.

For promotional activities:

• With your explicit consent, using photographs or videos for our brochures, website, social media, or other marketing materials.

4. Sharing Your Information

We may share your personal information with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers: We may share your information with trusted third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processors, IT support, website hosting, and email communication services. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and only use it for the purposes for which it was provided.
• Educational Agents/Partners: If you enrolled through an educational agent, we may share relevant information with them to facilitate your enrollment and support.
• Emergency Situations: In cases of emergency, we may share necessary information with emergency services, medical professionals, or your emergency contact.
• Legal Compliance: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe such action is necessary to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of English College London, our students, or others.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With Your Consent: We may share your information with other third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so.

We will never sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze website traffic, and understand where our visitors are coming from.

Cookies: Small text files placed on your device by websites that you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

Types of cookies we may use:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for the website to function correctly (e.g., logging in, making payments).
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously.
• Functionality Cookies: Enable the website to remember choices you make (e.g., your language preferences) and provide enhanced, more personal features.
• Targeting/Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver advertisements more relevant to you and your interests.

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Secure servers and networks.
• Encryption of sensitive data.
• Access controls and authentication procedures.
• Regular security assessments.
• Staff training on data protection.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to Access: To request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: To request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): To request the deletion of your personal information, in certain circumstances.
• Right to Restriction of Processing: To request that we restrict the processing of your personal information, in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability: To receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller, in certain circumstances.
• Right to Object: To object to the processing of your personal information, in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 12. We may require you to verify your identity before processing your request.

9. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any website you visit.

10. Children's Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide any personal information to us without the explicit consent of your parent or guardian. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website with a revised "Effective Date." We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

English College London
Email: hello@eclohelp.com
Phone: +44 7876 677465