This Privacy Policy applies to the website bementored.co.uk and all services offered by iQonique Consultancy Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 11752655), trading as BeMentored.
BeMentored provides independent education consultancy services to international families and students seeking guidance on UK university applications, personal statements, and student transition support.
For the purposes of UK GDPR, iQonique Consultancy Limited is the Data Controller. This means we determine why and how personal data is processed.
Contact:
Email: info@bementored.co.uk
Registered address: England and Wales · Company No. 11752655
ICO Registration: ZC174297
If you are under 18 years old, please read this section carefully — and ideally with a parent or guardian.
BeMentored works with students who are often under 18, and we take the protection of children's personal data very seriously. Our services are designed to be used by families, not by children acting alone.
We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children under the age of 13. If a child under 13 submits information through our website or contact form, we require that a parent or legal guardian provides explicit consent on their behalf before we process any of that data. If we discover we have collected data from a child under 13 without verified parental consent, we will delete it promptly.
Students aged 13 to 17 may use our contact form and engage with our services, but we strongly encourage them to do so with the knowledge and involvement of a parent or guardian. Where possible, we ask that the enquiry is submitted or co-signed by a parent or guardian.
Under UK GDPR, young people aged 13 and above can consent to certain data processing in their own right. However, given the nature of our services — which involve detailed personal information about a student's academic history, aspirations, and family context — we apply a higher standard of care and always prefer parental involvement.
We collect personal data in two ways: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you use our website.
| Category | Data Collected | How Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, email address, country of residence | Contact form, email, WhatsApp |
| Student information | Student's name, age or year group, academic interests, current school or university, grades or predicted grades, personal statement drafts | Consultation sessions, emails, documents shared with us |
| Family context | Parental/guardian names, contact details, relationship to student | Contact form, consultation sessions |
| Journey information | Stage of the application process, university preferences, service interests | Contact form, discovery call |
| Communications | Content of emails, WhatsApp messages, and notes from calls or meetings | Direct communication with us |
| Consent records | Record of when and how consent was given, including parental consent where applicable | Contact form checkbox, email confirmation |
| Category | Data Collected | How Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Usage data | Pages visited, time on site, referral source, device type and browser | Google Analytics (only if cookie consent accepted) |
| Technical data | IP address (anonymised), approximate geographic location | Google Analytics |
| Cookie preferences | Your cookie consent choice | Cookie consent banner (stored in browser) |
We do not collect sensitive special category data (such as health information, ethnicity, religion, or financial details) unless you choose to share it with us in the course of a consultation. Any such information is handled with the highest level of care and is never shared with third parties.
We use your personal data only for the purposes for which it was collected. Specifically:
We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling. All advice and decisions are made by a human consultant.
We do not use your data for advertising, nor do we sell it to any third party.
Under UK GDPR, we must have a valid legal basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:
| Processing Activity | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to an enquiry submitted via the contact form | Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — you tick the consent checkbox when submitting the form |
| Delivering consultancy services once formally engaged | Contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — processing is necessary to perform the service you have requested |
| Retaining records of our work for legal and business purposes | Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — maintaining business records is a legitimate interest, balanced against your rights |
| Sending follow-up communications and updates | Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — only where you have explicitly opted in |
| Analytics (website usage data) | Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — only loaded after you accept cookies |
| Processing data relating to children under 13 | Parental consent (Article 6(1)(a) and Article 8) — we require a parent or guardian to provide explicit consent |
| Complying with legal obligations | Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) |
Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal. To withdraw consent, contact us at info@bementored.co.uk.
We do not sell your data. We do not share it with universities, agents, or any commercial third parties. We treat everything you share with us as strictly confidential.
In limited circumstances, we may share data with:
We will never share a student's personal information — including name, academic record, personal statement, or family circumstances — with any university, school, agent, or education marketplace without the explicit written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
BeMentored serves families located around the world. When you contact us from outside the UK, your data travels to us via the internet and is stored on UK-based or EU-based systems.
Some of our service providers (such as Google Analytics and Formspree) may process data in the United States or other countries outside the UK. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:
If you would like more information about the safeguards in place for international transfers, please contact us at info@bementored.co.uk.
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law.
| Data Type | Retention Period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry data (no engagement) | 6 months from last contact | To follow up if requested; deleted if no engagement follows |
| Active client data | Duration of engagement + 3 years | Continuity of service; legal and contractual record-keeping |
| Student personal statements and documents | Duration of engagement + 1 year | Reference during and shortly after the application cycle |
| Financial / invoicing records | 7 years | Required under UK company and tax law |
| Consent records | Duration of relationship + 3 years | Evidence of lawful processing |
| Website analytics data | Up to 26 months | Google Analytics default retention; aggregated and anonymised |
| Data relating to children under 13 | Duration of engagement; deleted promptly if parental consent not confirmed | Enhanced protection for minors |
After the relevant retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised. If you would like your data deleted sooner, you have the right to request erasure (see Section 9).
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to both adults and, with appropriate adjustments, to children and their parents or guardians.
You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request). We will respond within 30 days.
If any data we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it.
Also known as the "right to be forgotten". You can ask us to delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions (e.g. financial records we are required to keep).
You can ask us to pause processing of your data in certain circumstances — for example, while you contest its accuracy.
Where processing is based on consent or contract, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes. We will stop unless we can demonstrate compelling grounds to continue.
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us. This does not affect any processing already carried out.
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data has been mishandled.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@bementored.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.
There is no charge for exercising your rights, unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, in which case we may charge a reasonable fee or decline to act.
This section is specifically for parents, guardians, and young people under the age of 18.
If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child whose data we hold, you have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, please email us at info@bementored.co.uk from the email address used when the enquiry was submitted. We may ask you to verify your identity and your relationship to the child.
Young people aged 13 and over have their own rights under UK GDPR. However, given that our services involve sensitive academic and personal information, we encourage students to exercise their rights with parental support where possible.
A student aged 13–17 can independently:
We will consider each request carefully and, where there is any doubt about a student's capacity to make a data rights decision independently, we may contact a parent or guardian for confirmation before acting.
If you believe that a child's personal data has been submitted to us without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately at info@bementored.co.uk. We will investigate and, where appropriate, delete the data without delay.
Our website uses cookies. For full details of what cookies we use, how they work, and how to manage them, please read our separate Cookie Policy.
In summary: we use essential cookies (required for the site to function), and — only with your explicit consent — analytics cookies via Google Analytics to understand how the site is used.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make significant changes, we will update the date at the top of this page.
Where changes are material — for example, a new way of using your data or a new third-party recipient — we will take reasonable steps to notify you directly, such as by email if we hold your contact details.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
This policy was last reviewed in July 2026.
For any questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise your data rights, or to raise a concern about how your data has been handled, please contact us:
BeMentored (iQonique Consultancy Limited)
Email: info@bementored.co.uk
Company No. 11752655 · Registered in England and Wales
ICO Registration: ZC174297
We aim to respond to all data-related enquiries within 30 days. For complex requests we may extend this by a further two months, in which case we will notify you within the initial 30-day period.
If you are not satisfied with our response, or if you believe we are processing your personal data unlawfully, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's data protection authority:
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Post: ICO, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
We would always appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you approach the ICO, so please do contact us first.