PhysicsUK — Student Terms & Privacy Notice

Who this is for

This notice explains the rules for using PhysicsUK and how we use and protect your data.

What PhysicsUK is

PhysicsUK is an assessment and feedback platform that lets you answer teacher-set questions and receive feedback to help you improve.

A) Rules for using PhysicsUK (Terms of Use)

1. Your account

• Your school/teacher gives you your login.
• You must not share your password or try to access anyone else’s account.

2. Acceptable use

You must not:

• upload or type abusive, threatening, or illegal content;
• try to break the site, bypass security, or scrape data;
• upload personal information you don’t need to use the platform (see “AI feedback” below).

3. School rules still apply

PhysicsUK is part of learning in school/college. Your school’s behaviour and IT policies still apply while using it.

4. If something goes wrong

We try to keep the service available, but it may occasionally be offline for maintenance or updates.

5. Changes

We may update these Terms & Privacy Notice. If changes are important, you may be asked to agree again.

B) How we use your data (Privacy Notice)

1. Who controls your data

• Your school/college is usually the Data Controller (they decide why your data is used).
• PhysicsUK is usually a Data Processor (we run the system for your school).

2. What data we collect

• your name (or display name), class/group, and login identifier (e.g., email/username);
• your answers, attempts, marks/scores, and feedback you receive;
• basic technical logs to keep the site secure and working.

3. What we use your data for

• letting you complete and submit work;
• generating feedback and tracking progress over time;
• giving teachers analytics to help teaching;
• keeping the platform safe and reliable.

We do not sell your data and we do not use it for advertising.

4. Generative AI feedback (important)

• Some feedback may be generated using AI.
• We design the system to avoid sending sensitive information to AI tools.
• Do not type sensitive personal information into answer boxes (medical details, home address, phone number, etc.).
• AI feedback is to support learning. Your teacher remains responsible for assessment decisions.

5. How long we keep your data

Pupil data is deleted each year in August (end-of-year reset), unless your school asks us to keep it longer for an agreed lawful reason.

6. Where your data is stored and how it’s protected

Data is stored in a MongoDB database with encryption at rest and encryption in transit (TLS/SSL).

7. Who we share your data with

• Your teacher/school staff who need it for teaching and learning.
• Service providers that help run the platform (hosting, database, and (where enabled) AI feedback providers) under appropriate contracts.

8. Your rights

You can ask your school about accessing your data, correcting it, and other rights that apply. In education there are specific rules about education records.

9. Questions or complaints

• Contact your school first (they are usually the Data Controller).
• You can also contact the ICO.