Privacy
Privacy notice
How we use personal information, what is stored on your device, and the choices you have.
At a glance
- Browse, search and compare schools without an account or giving us any personal details.
- Your shortlist stays on your device. We never receive it.
- No advertising or analytics cookies. Anonymous sponsored-placement counts only if you switch them on.
- We only hold your email address if you email us or sign up to the newsletter.
1. Who we are
Which Prep School (whichprepschool.com) is run by the Which British School (WBS) team. It is part of the WBS portfolio, alongside Which British School and British Summer Schools. For the personal information described in this notice, we are the controller: we decide how and why it is used.
Questions, requests and complaints about your information go to info@whichbritishschool.com.
2. What we collect, why, and for how long
We collect as little as we can. Searching, filtering and comparing schools happen in your browser, and none of it requires an account.
| Information | Why we use it | Lawful basis | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical details of each visit: IP address, browser type, the page requested (including any search in the page address) and the time | To deliver pages, keep the site secure and fix problems | Legitimate interests: running a safe, working website | A limited period set by our hosting provider’s logging |
| Your email address, sign-up page and the consent wording you agreed to | To send the parent newsletter, if you sign up | Consent, which you can withdraw at any time | Until you unsubscribe; then we keep only your email address on a suppression list, so that we do not contact you again |
| What you tell us when you email us: usually your name, email address and details about your search or your child | To answer you and give school-search guidance, or to handle listing and sponsorship enquiries | Legitimate interests: responding to people who contact us. For schools, steps towards an agreement | 2 years after our last contact with you |
| Anonymous counts of views and clicks on sponsored schools | To report to schools how their sponsored placements perform | Only if you switch this on in privacy preferences; the counts do not identify you | Up to 2 years, for reporting to the sponsoring school |
| Information about schools, including contact details and staff named in school materials | To publish an accurate directory | Legitimate interests: helping families find and contact schools | While the listing is published, plus its edit history |
| Staff accounts: name, email, role and the changes each person makes | To control who can edit the directory and keep an audit trail | Legitimate interests: security and accountability | For as long as the related record exists, and at least 2 years after access ends |
Information about your child
When you ask us for advice, it helps to tell us your child’s age, school year and interests. If you choose to tell us about their health or special educational needs, we use it only to advise you, and only with your explicit consent. You can withdraw that consent at any time. Please share only what you are comfortable sharing.
We do not make decisions about you by automated means, we do not build profiles of visitors, and we do not sell personal information.
3. Cookies and storage on your device
Our own pages do not set advertising or analytics cookies. We store two small items in your browser, both needed for features you choose to use:
| Name | What it does | Stays until |
|---|---|---|
which-prep-shortlist | Remembers up to three schools you have saved. It never leaves your device. | You remove the schools or clear your browser storage |
wps-placement-analytics | Remembers whether you allowed anonymous sponsored-placement counts | You change the setting or clear your browser storage |
Both are strictly necessary for a service you ask for, so they do not need consent under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Sponsored-placement counts are off unless you switch them on under Privacy preferences at the bottom of every page. You can switch them off there at any time.
Our hosting provider may use strictly necessary security measures, which can include a cookie, to protect the site from automated attacks.
4. Maps, sharing and links to other sites
Some features load content from, or take you to, other organisations. Each has its own privacy notice.
- Google Maps on school pages loads only when you select Show map. Google then receives your device’s IP address and may set cookies. Get directions opens Google Maps in a new tab. See Google’s privacy policy.
- The interactive school map in the directory loads map images from the OpenStreetMap Foundation when you open the map view. They receive your IP address to deliver them. See the OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy policy.
- Share buttons and social links are ordinary links. Nothing is sent to WhatsApp, Facebook, LinkedIn, X or Instagram unless you select one.
- Email links open your own email app. If you email a school directly, the school handles your message under its own privacy notice.
Our typefaces are served from our own site, so no font requests go to Google.
6. Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete it, or to restrict how we use it;
- object to our use of it, including at any time to direct marketing such as the newsletter;
- receive information you gave us with your consent in a reusable format; and
- withdraw consent at any time, without affecting what we did before you withdrew it.
To use any of these rights, email info@whichbritishschool.com. We may need to confirm your identity. We will reply within one month, or tell you within that month if we need up to two more months because a request is complex. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, by emailing us or using the link in any newsletter we send.
7. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first at info@whichbritishschool.com, with “Data protection complaint” in the subject. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it, and tell you the outcome without undue delay.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or call 0303 123 1113.
8. Children
Which Prep School is for parents, guardians and schools. It is not designed for children, and we do not knowingly collect information directly from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Changes to this notice
We will update this notice when our services or the law change, and show the date above. If a change affects how we use information you have already given us, we will tell you before it takes effect. Read our terms of use for the rules of using the site.