The Commonwealth Exchange Scholarship Council (“the Council,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to being transparent about how we use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website and online application portal (together, “our website”).
This Cookie Notice explains what cookies are, which cookies we use, why we use them, and how you can manage your preferences. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which sets out the broader basis on which we handle your personal data.
We are headquartered in the United Kingdom and operate in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, remember your preferences, and provide information to website owners.
Cookies set by the website owner (in this case, the Council) are called “first-party cookies.” Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third-party cookies.” Third-party cookies may track your activity across multiple websites.
Cookies can be either:
Session cookies: Temporary cookies that are deleted from your device automatically when you close your browser. They enable the website to link your actions during a single browsing session.
Persistent cookies: Cookies that remain on your device for a set period after you close your browser. They are activated each time you revisit the website that created them.
Similar technologies such as web beacons, pixel tags, local storage, and scripts may function in an equivalent way to cookies. This Notice covers all such technologies collectively.
Cookies on our website may be set by:
We categorise cookies as follows. Some cookies are strictly necessary and are placed automatically. All other categories require your consent.
These cookies are essential for our website and application portal to function correctly. They cannot be switched off in our systems, and no consent is required to set them under PECR. Without these cookies, services you have requested, such as completing an application form or logging into your account, cannot be provided.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| session_id | Council (first-party) | Maintains your logged-in session while you use the application portal | Session |
| csrf_token | Council (first-party) | Protects against cross-site request forgery attacks when you submit forms | Session |
| cookie_consent | Council (first-party) | Stores your cookie preference choices so you are not asked again on every page | 12 months |
| load_balancer | Council (first-party) | Ensures your requests are directed to the correct server for consistent performance | Session |
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, more personalised features. For example, they may remember your preferred language or region. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these features may not function correctly.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| lang_pref | Council (first-party) | Remembers your language or region preference so you do not need to reselect it on each visit | 12 months |
| ui_settings | Council (first-party) | Stores display preferences such as font size or accessibility settings you have applied | 6 months |
| portal_progress | Council (first-party) | Saves your progress within a partially completed scholarship application so you can return to it | 30 days |
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. All information collected is aggregated and anonymised; it cannot be used to identify you personally. We use this data to measure website performance, identify technical issues, and improve the experience for applicants and scholars across all 56 Commonwealth member nations.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics (third-party) | Distinguishes unique users by assigning a randomly generated identifier, enabling traffic and behaviour analysis | 2 years |
| ga[ID] | Google Analytics (third-party) | Used to maintain session state across page visits | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics (third-party) | Records and stores information about how the site is used on a given day | 24 hours |
| _gat | Google Analytics (third-party) | Used to throttle the rate of requests sent to Google Analytics | 1 minute |
All analytics data is processed with IP anonymisation enabled. We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data for Google’s own advertising purposes.
These cookies support the security and integrity of our website and application portal, helping us detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive activity.
| Cookie Name | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| cf_clearance | Cloudflare (third-party) | Records that you have passed a security challenge to prevent repeated challenges during your visit | 24 hours |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare (third-party) | Identifies and manages automated traffic to protect the website from bots | 30 minutes |
The Council does not use cookies for the following purposes:
We have no plans to introduce cookies for these purposes. If this changes, this Notice will be updated and you will be asked for fresh consent.
Under UK PECR and UK GDPR, we are required to have a lawful basis for setting cookies that are not strictly necessary.
| Category | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Legitimate interests / necessity to provide the service requested |
| Functional | Your consent |
| Analytics and performance | Your consent |
| Security | Legitimate interests in protecting our website and users from harm |
Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect any processing that took place before your withdrawal.
When you first visit our website, a cookie banner will appear asking for your consent for non-essential cookies. You may accept all categories, select individual categories, or reject all optional cookies. Your choices will be saved via the cookie_consent cookie and can be changed at any time by clicking the “Manage Cookies” link in the footer of our website.
You can also manage cookies directly through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:
Guidance on managing cookies in common browsers is available at the links below:
Please note that restricting cookies may affect the functionality of our website and application portal. In particular, disabling strictly necessary cookies may prevent you from submitting or saving scholarship applications.
You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits across all websites by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
Our application portal may be accessed by individuals aged 16 and above. We do not knowingly set non-essential cookies for users under the age of 16 without verifiable parental or guardian consent. If you believe a person under 16 has provided consent without appropriate authorisation, please contact us using the details in Section 9.
We review and update this Cookie Notice periodically to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in applicable law, or improvements to our practices. The date at the top of this page indicates when the Notice was last revised.
Where changes are material, we will display a prominent notice on our website and, where appropriate, reset your consent preferences so that you can review and reconfirm your choices under the updated Notice.
If you have any questions about this Cookie Notice or the way we use cookies, please contact us:
Commonwealth Exchange Scholarship Council
118 Fenchurch Street London EC3M 5BA United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
This Cookie Notice is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising in connection with this Notice shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
