How we use your information.
We collect only what we need to run a fair competition, and we don't sell it. This notice explains what we collect, why, who sees it, how long we keep it and what you can do about it.
Who we are
Ten Years From Now is run by Immerse Educational Services Ltd, trading as Succeed, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 13303414) with its registered office at 16 Copse Wood Way, Northwood, HA6 2UE, United Kingdom. Succeed is responsible for your personal information (the “data controller”).
For anything about your information, including the requests described below, email hello@tenyearsfromnow.org and mark your message “Privacy”.
What we collect, and why
| Whose | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Entrant | Name, email address, date of birth, country of residence | To check eligibility, run judging and contact you about your entry and result |
| School | School name and location, or that you are homeschooled; a staff member's title, surname and school email | To confirm you are a student and, if you receive recognition (a Distinction or above), tell your school and post any physical certificate there |
| Parent or guardian (under-18s) | Name and email address | To confirm your participation, ask for publication permission if needed, and tell them your result |
| Entry | Challenge, title, entry text, references, AI-use declaration, declarations you agreed to | For judging, originality checks and, with permission, publication |
| Drafts | Your draft, stored in your own browser. If you create an account, a copy is stored with Succeed | So you don't lose your work |
| Register interest | First name, email address and the role you choose (student, parent or guardian, educator). Students give their age; parents may give their child's age; educators may give their school. Whether you ticked the optional box to hear about Succeed opportunities | To email you competition news and dates, and Succeed opportunities only if you asked for them |
| Winners and finalists | Payment details for cash prizes; receipts for travel bursaries; a postal address for homeschooled entrants who are shortlisted, to post a certificate; a photograph if a finalist agrees to publication | To deliver awards and, with permission, publish finalists |
| Website use | Pages viewed and buttons used, with a random session number. No advertising cookies | To see how the site is used and fix problems |
We do not ask for phone numbers, home addresses (except as above), photographs (unless you become a finalist and agree), or information about family background, finances or ethnicity.
Our legal basis
We handle personal information under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018). Our legal bases are:
- Legitimate interests, for running the competition you have chosen to enter: checking eligibility, judging, originality checks, contacting you and your school contact, keeping the competition safe and fair, and understanding how the website is used. We have weighed these interests against your rights, taking particular care because most entrants are under 18.
- Consent, for a parent or guardian confirming an under-18's participation, publishing a finalist's entry, name or photograph, and optional emails about Succeed opportunities. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation, for keeping records of prize payments and anything we must keep by law.
Marketing
Competition emails (confirmation, reminders, your result) are sent to every entrant. They are not marketing.
Hearing about other opportunities from Succeed is a separate, optional choice. It is off unless you choose it, it is never a condition of entering, and every email has an unsubscribe link.
Succeed accounts
You don't need an account to enter. If you choose to create a free Succeed account, for example to save a draft or follow your entry, the account is covered by Succeed's own privacy policy. Voting in the Students' Choice Award requires a verified Succeed student account.
International transfers
Entrants come from many countries, and some of our service providers store or process data outside the UK, including in the European Economic Area and the United States. Where data leaves the UK, we rely on UK adequacy regulations (including the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified) or on the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the European Commission's standard contractual clauses. You can ask us for details.
How long we keep it
- Entries, entrant details, and parent, guardian and school contact details: until 31 August 2028, one year after the 2027 results, so we can answer queries. Then they are deleted or made anonymous.
- Records of parent or guardian confirmation, awards and prize payments: six years after the competition ends, as evidence and for accounting.
- Postal addresses for certificates: deleted once the certificate has been posted.
- Register interest: until you unsubscribe, or two years after we last emailed you, whichever comes first.
- Website use data: 13 months.
- Published finalist entries: for the period of the publication licence in the competition rules, unless you ask us to remove them sooner.
Drafts kept only in your browser stay on your device until you clear them.
Your rights
You can ask to see the information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, or receive a copy. You can withdraw consent at any time. Parents and guardians can make requests on behalf of children where the law allows. We reply within one month.
Email hello@tenyearsfromnow.org. If you're unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) or to the data protection authority where you live.
Children's information
Most of our entrants are under 18. We collect the minimum needed, explain it in plain language, and ask a parent or guardian to confirm participation for under-18s. We follow the UK Age Appropriate Design Code: settings are private by default, we don't profile entrants, show advertising or track location, and we never publish anything about an entrant without permission.
Security
Information is stored with access limited to the people who need it to run the competition. Confirmation links for parents and guardians expire, and are replaced when a new one is sent.
Changes
We will post any changes to this notice here, and tell entrants about significant changes by email. Last updated: 7 October 2026.