Cookie Policy
What cookies are
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. Some are needed for the site to work at all; others let us measure how the site is used or how well our advertising performs. This page also covers a couple of things that aren’t technically cookies — like the record of your own cookie choices, which we keep in your browser’s local storage.
Your choice
Nothing beyond the essentials is set until you allow it. When you first visit we ask, and you can accept everything, reject everything non-essential, or pick category by category. You can change your mind whenever you like — here, or from the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page.
The four categories
- EssentialAlways on
- Makes the site work: remembering your cookie choice and letting Stripe process a booking payment securely.
- AnalyticsYour choice
- Google Analytics 4, so we can see which pages and courses people actually use and improve the site.
- MarketingYour choice
- Google Ads and Meta (Facebook and Instagram), to measure which adverts lead to bookings and show you relevant adverts elsewhere.
- Embedded contentYour choice
- Loads our Instagram feed on the gallery page from a third party that sets its own cookies.
What actually gets set
| Name | Set by | Category | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics 4 | Analytics | Tells apart one visitor from another and remembers the session, so page views can be counted. | Up to 2 years |
| NID, IDE and similar | Marketing | Set on Google domains once advertising features are enabled, to measure ad performance and show relevant adverts. | Up to 2 years | |
| _fbp, _fbc | Meta (Facebook / Instagram) | Marketing | Links a visit to an advert you clicked so Meta can attribute bookings and build ad audiences. | Up to 90 days |
| __stripe_mid, __stripe_sid | Stripe | Essential | Card payment fraud prevention. Set only on the checkout page, and required to take a payment at all — so these are never gated. | Session to 1 year |
| Elfsight widget cookies | Elfsight | Embedded content | Set by the embedded Instagram feed on our gallery page to render and cache the feed. | Varies |
| stcm.consent.*, stcm.hasConsented | Learners’ Club | Essential | Your cookie choices. Stored in your browser’s local storage rather than as a cookie, and never sent to us or anyone else. | Until you clear it |
Cookie names and lifetimes are set by the providers above and can change without notice on their side. Stripe cookies appear only once you reach the checkout page.
Managing cookies elsewhere
Every browser lets you block or delete cookies in its settings, though blocking essential cookies will stop parts of this site working. You can also opt out directly with the providers we use:
Questions
For anything about cookies or how we handle your data, see our privacy policy or get in touch: