Cookies and similar technologies

What cookies are

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. Similar technologies such as local storage and pixels do comparable jobs. Together they let a site remember a choice, keep a session open, or measure how a page is used.

Some are set by us and some by third parties whose tools we use. This page covers both.

The categories we use

Strictly necessary

These make the site work and cannot be switched off. They keep your session active, remember your cookie choice, secure forms against abuse, and balance traffic across servers. They do not track you across other sites.

Preferences

These remember choices you have made, so you are not asked the same thing twice. Turning them off means the site forgets those settings between visits.

Analytics

These tell us which pages are used, where people leave, and whether something is broken. The information is aggregated and used to improve the site rather than to build a profile of you.

Marketing

These measure whether a campaign led to a visit and may be used to show relevant advertising elsewhere. These are the ones most people mean when they worry about cookies, and they only run if you agree.

How long they last

Session cookies are deleted when you close the browser. Persistent cookies remain for a set period, typically from a few days up to around a year depending on their purpose. Your cookie preference itself is stored as a persistent cookie so that you are not asked on every visit.

Third parties

Some cookies are set by providers whose tools we use, including analytics and advertising measurement. Those providers act under contract and are described in our privacy policy.

The application form on our apply page is operated by an application partner and may set its own cookies, governed by that partner's policies as well as this one.

Changing your choices

You can change your cookie settings at any time using the cookie link in the site footer. Withdrawing consent is as straightforward as giving it, and choices apply going forward rather than retroactively.

• Use the cookie settings link in the footer of any page
• Or clear cookies through your browser settings, which resets your choice
• Or use your browser's privacy controls to block categories entirely

Blocking strictly necessary cookies will stop parts of the site working, including forms and secure areas.

Do Not Track and global signals

Where your browser sends a recognised opt-out signal, we treat it as an opt-out of sharing for cross-context advertising, in line with applicable state privacy laws.

Changes

This page is updated when the cookies we use change. The date at the top reflects the most recent revision.