Welcome to XPERTSTEM. This page contains the Terms and Conditions, Examination Rules, Privacy and Data Protection information, Children's Privacy commitments, Cookie Policy, Refund and Cancellation information, Safeguarding information, Health & Safety information, Accessibility arrangements and Complaints procedure applicable to the XPERTSTEM Competition and online examination platform.
XPERTSTEM is an international academic competition for students in Grades 3–12, covering Science, Technology & Coding, English and Mathematics.
Where a participant is under 18, parents, legal guardians, schools, teachers or other authorised representatives may have responsibilities in relation to registration, supervision, consent, safeguarding and participation. An adult or school may act on a child's behalf only where legally authorised to do so.
The XPERTSTEM Competition provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their academic knowledge and skills through online qualification examinations and, where applicable, the XPERTSTEM Elite Finals.
The competition may include:
Competition formats, dates, eligibility requirements and qualification criteria may vary between competition years. The rules and commercial terms shown for the relevant competition year will apply to that competition.
Participants must provide accurate and complete information when registering.
XPERTSTEM may request information reasonably necessary to verify:
XPERTSTEM uses age information to determine eligibility and to apply appropriate privacy and safeguarding measures.
Where a participant is under 18, a parent, legal guardian, school or other authorised representative may complete or manage registration where appropriate and lawful.
Where XPERTSTEM relies on consent as the lawful basis for processing a child's personal information through an information society service:
Depending on the registration route and the processing involved, parental consent may not be required for every activity. For example, a school or other organisation may register participants and process their information on a different lawful basis where this is lawful and appropriate.
Where parental consent is required, XPERTSTEM may use an adult-controlled email confirmation process and, where reasonably necessary and proportionate to the risk, additional verification measures. XPERTSTEM will not request more verification information than is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
XPERTSTEM reserves the right to suspend, cancel or refuse a registration where inaccurate, fraudulent or misleading information has been provided or where eligibility, safeguarding or legal requirements have not been met.
Participants must follow all instructions provided before and during an XPERTSTEM examination.
Unless expressly permitted:
The examination may be completed at home under appropriate parental/guardian supervision or at a participating school under appropriate teacher or authorised supervision.
Where an examination requires a particular supervision arrangement, device configuration or technical setting, participants and supervising adults must follow the instructions supplied for that examination.
Participants must complete the examination within the allocated time.
The examination may be automatically submitted when the allotted time expires.
Where technically configured, refreshing or reloading the examination page may also result in automatic submission.
Once an examination has been submitted, a second attempt will not ordinarily be available unless XPERTSTEM authorises an alternative arrangement.
Participants are responsible for ensuring that they have:
XPERTSTEM takes reasonable steps to maintain the availability, security and integrity of its examination platform.
However, uninterrupted or error-free access cannot be guaranteed.
XPERTSTEM is not ordinarily responsible for problems caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control, including:
Where a significant technical incident may affect the fairness or integrity of an examination, XPERTSTEM may investigate the incident and, where appropriate, provide a reasonable remedy, alternative arrangement or review.
XPERTSTEM is committed to maintaining the fairness and integrity of its examinations.
The examination platform may use technical controls to identify potentially irregular examination behaviour.
Depending on the examination and the platform configuration, this may include technical information such as:
These technical events may be used to generate an examination integrity indicator or Risk Score.
A Risk Score, technical alert or similar indicator is a triage or decision-support signal. It is not, by itself, proof that a participant has cheated.
Where a potential examination integrity issue could result in a significant adverse decision, the decision must not be made solely on the basis of the Risk Score. A suitably authorised person will carry out a meaningful human review of the relevant information before an adverse decision is confirmed.
The human review will, where relevant:
Cheating, impersonation, unauthorised collaboration, use of prohibited assistance, manipulation of the examination platform or other serious breaches may result in:
Any decision will remain subject to applicable data protection, equality, consumer and other legal requirements.
Results are determined according to the criteria applicable to the relevant competition.
XPERTSTEM may correct a result where a technical, scoring or administrative error is identified.
XPERTSTEM may withhold or review a result where there are reasonable grounds to believe that examination rules have been breached, subject to the review and challenge process described above.
Gold Medal discounts are:
Discounts cannot be exchanged for cash unless expressly stated otherwise.
Participants who qualify for the XPERTSTEM Elite Finals must comply with additional requirements concerning:
Qualification for the Elite Finals does not guarantee a visa, immigration permission or entry into another country.
Participants and their parents/guardians are responsible for obtaining required travel documentation unless XPERTSTEM expressly states otherwise.
Competition-year packages, deadlines and cancellation terms will be communicated before payment and may vary between events.
XPERTSTEM expects participants, parents, guardians, teachers, supervisors, staff, volunteers and other persons attending XPERTSTEM activities to behave respectfully and appropriately.
The following conduct is prohibited:
XPERTSTEM may take reasonable and proportionate disciplinary action where these standards are breached.
Where the conduct concerns a child or raises a safeguarding concern, the safeguarding process takes priority.
XPERTSTEM is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
Our safeguarding approach applies to personnel involved in activities with individuals under 18 and includes:
A Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is responsible for safeguarding oversight.
Safeguarding Contact: info@xpertstem.org
If a child is in immediate danger, appropriate emergency services should be contacted.
XPERTSTEM operates a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, exploitation and inappropriate conduct towards children.
Safeguarding information will be handled with appropriate confidentiality, but confidentiality will not prevent disclosure where there is a legal or safeguarding reason to do so.
XPERTSTEM is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of participants, staff, consultants and visitors.
Risk assessments may be conducted for relevant activities, including:
Participants and accompanying adults must follow reasonable health and safety instructions issued by XPERTSTEM, venues, accommodation providers, transport providers and authorised supervisors.
Accidents, injuries and safety incidents should be reported to the appropriate XPERTSTEM representative as soon as reasonably possible.
XPERTSTEM aims to provide fair access to its examinations and activities.
Participants or their parents, guardians or schools may request reasonable adjustments before an examination or event.
Depending on the circumstances, adjustments may include:
Requests will be considered individually, taking account of applicable requirements, the participant's needs, operational feasibility and examination integrity.
Requests should be made as early as possible.
Accessibility Contact: info@xpertstem.org
XPERTSTEM respects the privacy of participants, parents, guardians, teachers, schools and other users.
XPERTSTEM is designed for students in Grades 3–12 and is therefore likely to be accessed by children. We apply additional safeguards to children's personal information and consider the best interests of the child when designing and operating the service.
The data controller for the XPERTSTEM service is:
A TO Z EDUCATION LTD
Company Registration Number: 12372314
Registered Office: Flat 4 Compton Lodge, Green Lanes, London, England, N21 3RU, United Kingdom
A TO Z EDUCATION LTD is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office under data protection registration reference ZB006769.
We process personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, as amended from time to time.
A TO Z EDUCATION LTD has a designated Data Protection Officer (DPO). Data protection enquiries can be sent to info@xpertstem.org and will be routed to the appropriate data protection contact.
Depending on how you use XPERTSTEM, we may collect:
We may also receive personal information from a school, teacher, parent/guardian, competition partner or authorised representative where they register or manage participation on a participant's behalf.
We aim to collect only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information unless it is necessary, lawful and appropriately protected.
Personal information may be used to:
We do not use children's personal information for purposes unrelated to the service unless we have a lawful basis to do so and any additional protections required for children have been considered.
Depending on the circumstances, XPERTSTEM may process personal information based on:
Where consent is relied upon, it will be requested in a clear and appropriate manner and may be withdrawn at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.
Where the service is offered directly to a child and consent is used as the lawful basis for processing their personal information, the additional UK GDPR rules on children's consent apply.
XPERTSTEM is an online educational service for students in Grades 3–12 and is therefore likely to be accessed by children.
We design and operate the service with the Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code) in mind. The Children's Code contains 15 standards intended to provide stronger privacy protections for children.
The best interests of the child are treated as a primary consideration when we design, configure or materially change online features that process children's personal information.
XPERTSTEM treats online processing of children's data and examination monitoring as potentially high-risk processing. A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is maintained as part of our data protection governance for relevant processing and is reviewed when there is a material change in the nature, scope, context or purposes of the processing.
We ask for age/date of birth and grade information where needed to determine eligibility and apply appropriate child protections.
Where the risks arising from processing cannot be appropriately addressed through reliable age information, we may apply child-protective settings to all relevant users.
Privacy information will be presented in clear, age-appropriate language. Where appropriate, we may use layered notices, just-in-time explanations and child-friendly summaries so that participants understand what information is being used and why.
We will not intentionally use children's personal information in a way that is inconsistent with their wellbeing or that creates avoidable risks to their rights and freedoms.
We publish and enforce rules covering privacy, safeguarding, examination integrity, conduct and other relevant standards.
Privacy settings are designed to be high-privacy by default. Non-essential uses of children's information will not be enabled merely because a child uses the core service.
We aim to collect and retain only the minimum personal information reasonably necessary for the service or activity in which the participant is engaged.
Children's information will not be disclosed to third parties unless there is a lawful and necessary reason to do so, taking account of the best interests of the child.
XPERTSTEM does not require non-essential geolocation tracking for the core examination service. Where a location feature is introduced, it will be off by default unless there is a compelling, documented reason for a different setting, and appropriate notice and controls will be provided.
Where a feature allows a parent or carer to monitor a child's activity, appropriate age-appropriate information and visible notices will be provided.
Profiling is not used for targeted advertising to children. Any profiling or automated evaluation used for service security or examination integrity is limited to the necessary purpose, subject to appropriate safeguards and human oversight, and is not used as a solely automated basis for significant adverse decisions.
We will not use design techniques intended to pressure or manipulate children into providing unnecessary personal information or weakening their privacy protections.
XPERTSTEM does not provide connected toys or child-tracking devices as part of the core service.
We provide accessible routes for participants and parents/guardians to exercise applicable data protection rights, raise concerns and contact us about privacy or safeguarding.
Parents and guardians may contact XPERTSTEM regarding a child's information where they are legally authorised to do so. We may take reasonable steps to verify identity and authority before disclosing personal information.
To protect examination integrity, XPERTSTEM may monitor technical examination events.
Depending on the examination and platform configuration, this may include:
These technical events may contribute to a Risk Score or examination integrity indicator.
The purpose is to identify potentially irregular examination behaviour and assist authorised personnel in reviewing examination integrity.
A Risk Score is a decision-support indicator and is not proof of cheating on its own.
XPERTSTEM will not use a Risk Score as the sole basis for a decision that has a legal or similarly significant effect on a participant.
Before an adverse decision is confirmed, an authorised human reviewer will consider the underlying evidence and any relevant explanation or additional information provided by the participant or their parent/guardian.
The reviewer will have sufficient authority and competence to change the outcome. Human review will not be a merely administrative or automatic approval of a system recommendation.
A participant, or their parent/guardian where legally authorised, may ask for the outcome to be reconsidered and may provide relevant information or challenge the decision.
Where the UK GDPR provisions on automated decision-making apply, XPERTSTEM will provide the safeguards required by law, including appropriate information about the decision, meaningful human intervention and an opportunity to contest the decision.
Personal information may be shared with carefully selected organisations where necessary to operate XPERTSTEM and where a lawful basis exists.
These may include:
Where a supplier processes personal information on our behalf, we require appropriate contractual, security and data protection safeguards.
We maintain an internal record of relevant processors and sub-processors and review them as providers change. Where applicable, details of material processors may be provided to customers or data subjects through the privacy contact.
XPERTSTEM does not sell participants' personal information.
We do not knowingly allow third parties to use children's personal information for behavioural advertising.
Some XPERTSTEM service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, XPERTSTEM will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism where required, which may include:
Where necessary, XPERTSTEM will assess the risks associated with an international transfer and apply measures designed to protect the information to a standard required by applicable data protection law.
XPERTSTEM uses appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information from:
Security measures may include access controls, authentication, encryption where appropriate, monitoring, logging, secure development practices, backup arrangements and other safeguards proportionate to the risk.
Access to children's personal information is limited to people who need it for authorised purposes and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.
No online system can guarantee absolute security.
XPERTSTEM retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary and in accordance with our data retention requirements.
Our standard retention approach is:
These periods are maximum or standard periods rather than promises that every record will be retained for the full period. Information may be deleted earlier when it is no longer needed.
Where a legal claim, complaint, safeguarding matter, investigation or regulatory requirement requires information to be preserved, the relevant information may be retained for longer and reviewed periodically.
Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, individuals may have rights to:
Children have data protection rights too. We will consider the child's age, maturity and understanding when deciding how a request should be handled.
Requests concerning children may be made by the child or by a parent/guardian where legally authorised.
XPERTSTEM may take reasonable steps to verify the identity of the requester and, where applicable, the authority of a parent, guardian or representative.
We will respond to valid rights requests without undue delay and normally within one month of receiving the request. Where the law permits an extension because a request is complex or multiple requests have been made, we will inform the requester within the initial response period.
Privacy and Data Protection Contact: info@xpertstem.org
XPERTSTEM may use cookies and similar technologies.
Necessary cookies may be used for functions such as:
Analytics, advertising, marketing or other non-essential cookies will only be activated where the applicable consent requirements have been satisfied.
Users should be provided with a clear mechanism to manage optional cookie preferences.
Continuing to browse the website will not be treated as consent to non-essential cookies where consent is legally required.
Where a user is a child, privacy settings and cookie choices will be designed with the Children's Code and the best interests of the child in mind.
XPERTSTEM may send communications necessary to administer participation, including:
Where marketing consent is required, appropriate consent will be obtained and users will be given a clear way to withdraw it.
We do not use children's personal information for targeted advertising.
XPERTSTEM may photograph or record official events where lawful and appropriate.
Where identifiable photographs, videos, testimonials or other personal information are used for promotional purposes and consent is required, appropriate consent will be obtained.
Particular care will be taken when using identifiable images or information relating to children.
Where consent is relied upon for promotional use, the person giving consent may withdraw it for future use, subject to applicable law and practical limitations relating to material already lawfully published.
XPERTSTEM website content, logos, branding, examination questions, software, graphics, documents and other materials are owned by or licensed to XPERTSTEM or its relevant rights holders and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
No examination material may be copied, reproduced, published, distributed or commercially exploited without appropriate permission.
Participants must not attempt to reverse engineer, interfere with or unlawfully reproduce any part of the examination platform.
Registration fees for Online, Onsite, Regional or National Qualification Rounds are generally non-refundable, subject to any mandatory statutory rights and the competition-year terms shown before payment.
Elite Final refunds and cancellation arrangements are subject to the applicable competition-year cancellation, package, accommodation and visa-refusal rules communicated before payment.
Because Elite Final costs and arrangements may vary by year and destination, the refund terms displayed for the relevant event at the time of purchase form part of the applicable commercial terms.
Gold Medal discounts are non-transferable and must be used within the applicable validity period stated for the relevant competition.
Where a visa-refusal refund is offered for the relevant event, the participant must provide an official visa refusal document and meet the timing and other conditions stated in the applicable competition-year refund policy.
Nothing in this policy excludes or restricts consumer rights or other legal rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.
Where there is a conflict between this general policy and mandatory statutory rights, the statutory rights will prevail.
XPERTSTEM aims to handle complaints fairly, consistently and confidentially.
Complaints may relate to:
Complaints should include the participant's name, relevant competition/examination, date, description of the issue and any supporting evidence.
Complaints Contact: info@xpertstem.org
We will acknowledge and review complaints within a reasonable period and may request additional information where necessary.
Safeguarding concerns should be reported immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Privacy complaints may also be raised through the Privacy and Data Protection Contact.
Individuals may also have the right to complain to the relevant data protection supervisory authority, including the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) where applicable.
The XPERTSTEM website may contain links to third-party websites.
XPERTSTEM does not control third-party websites and is not responsible for their content, security or privacy practices.
Users should review the relevant third-party terms and privacy notices before providing personal information.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
Subject to applicable law, XPERTSTEM is not ordinarily responsible for losses caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control, including third-party outages, internet failures, power failures, participant device failures or force majeure events.
Nothing in these Terms removes mandatory statutory rights.
Nothing in these Terms limits liability for matters where limitation or exclusion is prohibited by law.
XPERTSTEM may update these Terms and Policies from time to time to reflect:
The latest version will be published on this page together with the relevant update date.
Where a change materially affects rights, privacy or participation, XPERTSTEM will provide appropriate notice where required by law.
Website Operator and Data Controller:
A TO Z EDUCATION LTD
Company Registration Number: 12372314
Registered in England and Wales.
Registered Office:
Flat 4 Compton Lodge
Green Lanes
London
England
N21 3RU
United Kingdom
XPERTSTEM is the competition and service brand operated by A TO Z EDUCATION LTD.
General XPERTSTEM Contact:
Email: info@xpertstem.org
Telephone: +44 7305 916410
Legal and Operator Enquiries:
Email: info@atozedu.co.uk
Telephone: +44 20 8350 9881
Data Protection Registration: ICO reference ZB006769
For privacy requests, complaints, safeguarding, accessibility or other XPERTSTEM enquiries, contact info@xpertstem.org.
These Terms and Policies are intended to be read together with any competition-specific terms, registration information, examination instructions and other conditions presented to participants at the relevant point of service.
Except where mandatory law provides otherwise, these Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales and subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, while preserving any mandatory consumer protection rights that apply to the participant in their place of residence.
For general XPERTSTEM enquiries:
Email: info@xpertstem.org
Telephone: +44 7305 916410
For legal/operator enquiries:
Email: info@atozedu.co.uk
Telephone: +44 20 8350 9881
For:
Please clearly identify the nature of your enquiry so that it can be routed to the appropriate team.
If XPERTSTEM becomes aware of a personal data breach, we will assess the incident without undue delay and take appropriate steps to contain, investigate, remediate and document it.
Where a breach is likely to result in a risk to individuals' rights and freedoms and notification is required by applicable law, XPERTSTEM will notify the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.
Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to affected individuals, we will notify affected individuals without undue delay where required by law.
All personal data breaches will be recorded and assessed, including where notification to the ICO or affected individuals is not legally required.
If you believe you have identified a security or privacy incident involving XPERTSTEM, please report it promptly to:
Security & Privacy Contact: info@xpertstem.org
XPERTSTEM is an online educational service that processes information relating to students, including children.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to review this page with younger participants before registration and examination.
The XPERTSTEM website and examination platform should provide clear, age-appropriate explanations at the point where children's personal information is collected or used.
Parents and guardians should also ensure that participants understand the examination rules, including the prohibition on unauthorised assistance and the importance of protecting login information.
Where a parent or guardian registers a child, they are responsible for providing accurate information and for completing any parental authorisation or verification steps required by the service and applicable law.
XPERTSTEM's use of children's personal information is designed around data minimisation, privacy by default, appropriate security, safeguarding and meaningful human oversight.
Technical examination monitoring is used to protect the integrity of assessments. Monitoring data is not intended to label a child as dishonest automatically and will not, by itself, determine a significant adverse outcome.
Parents, guardians and participants may contact XPERTSTEM with questions about privacy, examination monitoring, data protection rights or an examination integrity decision.
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