Cookies are small data files generated by web servers and are stored on your computer. These are used to make the site simpler and most big websites do this too.
They help to improve your experience on the site by remembering settings such as login information, allowing information to be passed between the site and our online payment gateways for new sign-ups and to measure how people use the site so that it can be improved and kept running smoothly.
We use Google Analytics to collect anonymous information on people who visit and use the site. This information is used to make sure the site is working correctly and to improve the experience for all users.
The type of information that Google Analytics stores includes the number of pages the user looked at, how long the user spent on the site, the users location and information about the device used to access the site.
We do not allow Google to share the information collected with anyone else and at no point is any personal information collected such as name or address.
The site uses the following Google Analytics cookies.
| Name | Typical Cookie Content | Length of Storage |
|---|---|---|
| __utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| __utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| __utmc | randomly generated number | when the browser is closed |
| __utmz | Information on how the site was reached (e.g. direct or via a link/search/advertisement) | 6 months |
If you’d rather your information wasn’t used in this way you can install the official Google Analytics browser plugin to block these cookies.
The site uses technology provided by Brightcove for the videos featured on the site. There are two types of cookie that Brightcove uses to ensure video is played back to the user.
The first cookie is used to determine the user’s connection speed and then play the best quality video for the detected speed. By using this cookie the Brightcove player can load video faster and also adjust the quality depending on the user’s connection speed.
| Name | Typical Cookie Content | Length of Storage |
|---|---|---|
| BC_BANDWIDTH | a string of numbers and letters | when the browser is closed |
The second type of cookie is used for analytics purposes and is used to collect data on for the video being viewed and the player being used. This data is used to improve the user experience and to ensure the player and videos are working correctly. No personal data is collected by these cookies.
| Name | Typical Cookie Content | Length of Storage |
|---|---|---|
| AkamaiAnalytics_BrowserSessionId | a string of numbers and letters | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalyticsDO_visitMetricsCsv | a string of numbers separated by | | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalyticsDO_bitRateBucketsCsv | a string of numbers | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalytics_VisitCookie | 1 | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalytics_VisitLastCloseTime | a string of numbers | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalytics_VisitIsPlaying | 1 or 0 | when the browser is closed |
| clientLastPTimes | a string of numbers | when the browser is closed |
| clientLastHTimes | a string of numbers | when the browser is closed |
| AkamaiAnalyticsDO_visitStartTime | a string of numbers | when the browser is closed |
The bar that appears at the top of the screen will, when closed set a cookie on the user’s machine confirming that the user accepts the use of cookies on the site.
| Name | Typical Cookie Content | Length of Storage |
|---|---|---|
| accept_cookies | 1 | 6 months |
There are a variety of ways to turn off cookies in your browser and the following links will help you learn how to do this:
If you’d like to learn more about how to stop advertising Cookies being placed on your computer or device Your Online Choices provides useful information on how to manage these.
Parts of wording are taken from the gov.uk cookies page under the Open Government Licence.