Beacon Equity Trust Privacy Policy

Privacy Notice

The Beacon Equity Trust 

Including Beacon Changemakers and High Fliers Academy (HFA) — programmes of The Beacon Equity Trust 

Last revised: May 2026 

1.  About This Privacy Notice 

This privacy notice explains how The Beacon Equity Trust (“BET”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, shares, stores, and deletes personal data in connection with its charitable programmes and activities. 

The Beacon Equity Trust is a UK registered charity (No. 1132994) and company registered in England and Wales (No. 06952392). Our registered address is Sandells House, Cliftons Lane, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9RA. 

BET operates the following programmes, each of which is covered by this notice: 

  • Beacon Changemakers — a leadership development programme for scholars, alumni, and leadership programme participants 
  • High Fliers Academy (HFA) — an educational programme delivering courses, events, and workshops to students 

Beacon Changemakers and High Fliers Academy are programmes of The Beacon Equity Trust. They are not separate legal entities. Any reference to these programmes in this notice means BET is the data controller. 

BET works in close partnership with ARLLStar Ltd (trading as ARLLS), a separate but related company established to support BET’s charitable work through commercial activity. BET and ARLLS operate as Joint Controllers in respect of certain shared data processing activities. Please see Section 5 for full details of this relationship and how data is shared. 

2.  The Data We Collect 

Beacon Changemakers — Scholars, Alumni & Leadership Participants 

Most personal data is provided directly by you when applying for a Beacon Scholarship or registering for a Beacon Changemakers programme, or by your nominated referees. Data we collect may include: 

  • Biographical information: full name, contact details, date of birth, gender, nationality, birthplace, residency, and identification documents (e.g. passport, birth certificate) 
  • Educational history: school reports, exam transcripts, degree certificates, and preferred Beacon Partner School or University 
  • Personal statements, leadership roles held, photographs, endorsements, and references 
  • Monitoring and performance data: academic and co-curricular achievement, leadership performance at workshops, Target Sheet data 
  • Financial data: parental, sponsor or guardian income, assets and liabilities; and for university scholars, spending patterns obtained via third-party bank mandates 
  • Health and wellbeing information, where provided, to enable us to make reasonable adjustments and support your wellbeing. In the event of any issue or concern over a Beacon Scholar’s physical or mental health or wellbeing, The Beacon Equity Trust can share medical and/or confidential information with parents/Guardians/sponsors, and if necessary university authorities and medical practitioners, as deemed appropriate by Beacon Equity Trust staff and Safeguarding Officers. 
  • Information relating to outstanding fees with Beacon Partner Schools or Universities 

We do not generally seek sensitive categories of personal data beyond health information. However, such data may sometimes be inferred from information you voluntarily share in personal statements or Target Sheets. 

High Fliers Academy (HFA) — Students 

All personal data is provided by students at enrolment, or via client organisations acting on their behalf. Data we collect may include: 

  • Full name, contact details, date of birth, and school information 
  • University plans and primary parent or guardian name and contact details 
  • Feedback and commentary provided within HFA courses, events, or workshops 

All Data Subjects — General 

Where you interact with our website or digital platforms, we or our third parties may also collect device and browsing data automatically through cookies, web beacons, and log files. You may manage your cookie preferences through our website. 

3.  How We Use Your Data 

We use your personal data only for the purposes for which it was collected, which include: 

  • Running fair and transparent scholarship selection, renewal, and monitoring processes  
  • Assessing financial eligibility and compiling application records 
  • Sharing candidate application data externally with potential Beacon partner institutions 
  • Contacting you during application, selection, and ongoing programme management 
  • Delivering Beacon Changemakers leadership development activities and workshops 
  • Delivering HFA courses, events, and programmes to enrolled students 
  • Monitoring academic progress and leadership performance 
  • Informing Beacon Mentors, Partner Schools, and Partner Universities about scholar progress 
  • Sharing relevant opportunities, programmes, and updates with you from BET, Beacon Changemakers, HFA, and our partner ARLLStar Ltd (ARLLS), where you have consented to this 
  • Sharing your data with university and higher education partners who may contact you directly about relevant opportunities, where you have consented to this 
  • Requesting information from university and higher education partners about the status of any current applications you may have with them 
  • Improving our programmes and services using feedback data 
  • Complying with our legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations 
  • Use of your personal data and information on electronic media, including our website and social media channels, where consent has been given 

Marketing and promotion of BET 

We may collect and use photographs, video recordings, and other visual images featuring individuals for marketing, promotional, and communication purposes. This includes scholar profiles on the Beacon Changemakers website. Where a scholar or candidate is aged 17 or under, we will only use such material in ways that have been specifically consented to by a parent or guardian. To opt out, please contact info@beaconscholarship.com  

We will only use your data for a new or unrelated purpose where we have a compatible lawful basis. We will notify you and explain our reasoning in such cases. Please note that we may process your data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law. 

4.  Our Lawful Basis for Processing 

Under UK and EU GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. We rely on the following bases: 

  • Consent — for scholarship applications (given by submitting your application and signing the Declaration); for sharing data with ARLLStar Ltd / ARLLS for the purpose of sharing opportunities; for sharing data with university and higher education partners; and for retaining data beyond programme completion to keep you informed of relevant opportunities 
  • Contract — to enrol students and fulfil our obligations under client agreements with schools and organisations 
  • Legitimate interests — where processing benefits you or a third party without causing undue risk of harm, for example in monitoring scholar progress or improving our programmes 
  • Legal obligation — where we are required to process data to comply with the law 

Where providing personal data is a requirement of applying for or holding a Beacon Scholarship, failure to supply the information requested may mean we are unable to assess your application or continue your scholarship. 

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the details in Section 9. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of any processing already carried out. Please note that withdrawing consent may affect your eligibility for scholarship selection, our ability to continue your scholarship, deliver programme services, or keep you informed of opportunities. Please also note that if you withdraw your consent, we may be required to retain parts or all of your data for legal, compliance, or audit purposes for the periods set out in Section 8. 

Where a scholar or candidate is under 17, consent is given by a parent or guardian on their behalf. We ask that parents and guardians also seek the agreement of their young person before providing consent. 

5.  How and With Whom We Share Your Data 

BET staff  

Your data is stored securely in the UK and accessed by authorised Beacon staff and systems. 

Beacon local country and UK staff have access to your personal data. They will access that data via our systems and may download it locally to support our selection and ongoing monitoring processes. 

ARLLStar Ltd (trading as ARLLS) — Joint Controller 

BET works in partnership with ARLLStar Ltd (trading as ARLLS), a separate commercial company established specifically to support BET’s charitable mission by generating revenue through the delivery of leadership programmes to schools and companies. BET and ARLLS are Joint Controllers under Article 26 UK/EU GDPR in respect of shared processing activities. 

This means that where you are a scholar, alumnus, or student of BET, your personal data may be shared with ARLLS so that: 

  • ARLLS can contact you with information about leadership opportunities, programmes, and events that may be of interest to you 
  • BET and ARLLS can coordinate the delivery of connected programmes and services 
  • BET can fulfil its charitable mission supported by ARLLS’s commercial activity 

ARLLS has its own privacy notice which is available at www.arlls.com . A Joint Controller Agreement is in place between BET and ARLLS setting out each party’s responsibilities in respect of your data. In summary: each organisation handles data subject rights requests relating to its own processing activities; both organisations are responsible for keeping your data secure; and you may exercise your rights against either organisation. 

School, and Higher Education Partners 

Where you have given your consent, we will share your personal data with partner institutions, including schools and higher education institutions. By giving your consent, you acknowledge and agree that these institutions may contact you directly about educational opportunities, programmes, admissions, and services relevant to your education and development. 

A list of our current partner institutions is available on request. We will always tell you which partners we are sharing your data with at the point of consent. 

Other Third Parties 

We may also share your data with: 

  • Contractual staff and service providers acting on our instructions 
  • External auditors or inspectors 
  • Organisations we are legally required to share data with 
  • Organisations we need to share data with for safeguarding reasons 

All third parties are required to process your data only on our instructions, under confidentiality obligations, and for specified purposes only. We do not permit third parties to use your data for their own purposes or retain it beyond the processing task. Whenever your information is shared, we will always seek to share the minimum amount of information necessary to fulfil the purpose. 

6.  International Transfers 

We may transfer personal data outside the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA) to staff, shortlisting assistants, or administrators in the countries where we operate. All international transfers are made securely, to countries deemed adequate by the UK Government or European Commission, or subject to appropriate contractual safeguards and confidentiality agreements. 

7.  Data Security 

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect data from accidental loss, misuse, or unauthorised access. Access is restricted to those with a legitimate need to know, and all such individuals are subject to confidentiality obligations. In the event of a data breach, we will follow our incident response procedures and notify the ICO and affected individuals where required by law. 

8.  How Long We Keep Your Data 

General Visitors, Students, and Enquirers 

If you share your data with us — for example by visiting our website, making an enquiry, or enrolling on an HFA programme — we will retain your personal data for up to 24 months from the date of last contact or last programme activity. During this period we may contact you with relevant opportunities from BET, Beacon Changemakers, HFA, and ARLLS. You can opt out of such communications at any time. 

Scholars and Alumni 

For Beacon Scholarship applicants, scholars, and alumni, the following specific retention periods apply: 

  • Active scholarship monitoring records:  Retained for the duration of the scholarship tenure  
  • Application data and active scholarship monitoring records retained for Beacon Alumni unless opted out under section 9 of this policy. 
  • For successful applicants, financial data will be retained for 7 years after withdrawal from the programme.    
  • Post-tenure alumni data: Up to 24 months after the end of the 7-year retention period. 
  • HFA student records:  Up to 6 months after the end of the relevant client contract 
  • Client contracts and purchase orders:  Up to 7 years after last action 
  • Marketing records:  Up to 1 year after last action or unsubscribe 

After the applicable retention period, personal data will be permanently deleted. Only anonymised, non-identifying summary statistics may be retained for benchmarking and reporting purposes. Where you contact us with a complaint or query, we may retain a record of that communication and our response for as long as is reasonably necessary to resolve the matter and protect our legitimate interests. Our full Internal Data Retention Policy is available to staff and to data subjects on request. 

9.  Your Rights 

Under UK and EU GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data: 

  • Right of access — to request copies of the personal data we hold about you 
  • Right to rectification — to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data 
  • Right to erasure — to ask us to delete your data where there is no lawful reason to continue processing it 
  • Right to restriction — to ask us to limit how we use your data 
  • Right to object — to object to us processing your data 
  • Right to data portability — to ask us to transfer your data to another organisation (where applicable) 
  • Right to withdraw consent — where we rely on consent, to withdraw it at any time 

We will respond to all requests without undue delay and within one month. Where we cannot fulfil your request, we will explain why. Please note that as BET and ARLLS are Joint Controllers, you may also exercise your rights directly against ARLLS in respect of processing carried out by them. 

If you are under 16, or are making a request on behalf of someone under 16, parental or guardian consent may be required. Please contact us for guidance. 

10.  Contact Us & How to Complain 

For any questions about this notice, to exercise your rights, or to raise a concern, please contact us: 

The Beacon Equity Trust 

Sandells House, Cliftons Lane, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9RA, United Kingdom 

Email: info@beaconscholarship.com 

Website: www.beaconscholarship.com 

For HFA enquiries: info@highfliersacademy.org 

For ARLLS enquiries: info@arlls.com

If you remain dissatisfied after raising a concern with us, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): 

Information Commissioner’s Office 

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF 

Helpline: 0303 123 1113 

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint 

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time. Material changes will be communicated to you directly where possible. The current version will always be available on our website.