Main content

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Young Composer Competition Privacy Notice 2025

Click here for a simplified version of this privacy notice written for young people.

Your trust is very important to us. This means the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such personal data. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law.


Why are we doing this and how can you participate?
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is asking 12 to 18 year olds across the UK to create and submit their own original music to be considered for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Young Composer 2025 competition.


Winners will participate in a tailored development programme working with a mentor composer on a project with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra, culminating in a performance or broadcast opportunity. Winners’ names will also feature on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Young Composer website.


Teachers may enter the competition on behalf of a student. However, they must gain permission from the parent/guardian of the child before entering, and also provide a copy of the competition rules and privacy notice to the parent/guardian.

If you are a parent/guardian, teacher or a Young Composer aged 17 years or older, you can also sign up to our mailing list, to hear about further Young Composer development and educational opportunities. To sign up use the tick box found on the online application form.

The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will collect the personal data via an online platform used by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.


When you contribute to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, we may use your contribution in our programmes or content, but we cannot promise to use everything that we receive. If we broadcast your contribution or if you feature in a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ broadcast, this may include the programme being available online and/or on demand, and it may be used again in a future broadcast. It may also include use on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s social media channels.

For information in relation to how the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will process your personal data where you are providing contributions to our programmes, please see our .


What personal data will the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ collect?
Entrants must be between 12 – 18 years old to enter the competition. If you are 16 years old or younger, you must have parental/guardian permission to enter the competition.


There are two types of data we will collect: personal data and special category data. Special category data is still personal data, but its processing by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ requires the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to follow additional compliance steps.


The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will collect and process the following personal data about the young composer/entrant to the competition:
• Full name
• Date of birth
• Gender (optional)
• Email address (if you’re 16 or over)
• Location
• City, county and post code of your School/ College/ University
• Your composition, along with its title
• A photo of you (if you are shortlisted)
• Biographical information about you (if you are shortlisted)


The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will collect and process the following special category data about the entrant, should you choose and (where appropriate) have permission to disclose it:

• Race or ethnicity data (optional)


The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ will collect and process the following personal data about the entrants parent/guardian or teacher:

• Name
• Email address
• Contact telephone number


Who is the Data Controller?
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is the “data controller” of your personal data. This means that the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.


Lawful basis for processing your personal data
The legal basis on which the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ processes your personal data is the performance of its public task. The additional condition for processing your special category data is the substantial public interest condition, based on the statutory and governmental purposes. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s role is to act in the public interest and to serve all audiences with content which informs, educates, and entertains.

This is consistent with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s wider public purposes under its Royal Charter which includes reflecting, representing, and serving the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and providing specialist educational content to help support learning for children and teenagers across the United Kingdom.

We also have a legal obligation to process the personal data of the winners in order to comply with relevant competition regulations.

If you have told us you would like to receive emails regarding further development and educational opportunities, we will process your personal data on the basis of consent. You can withdraw your consent any time by unsubscribing from emails by using the link at the foot of our emails or by contacting young.composer@bbc.co.uk.


Sharing your personal data
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. These partners only use your personal data on behalf of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and not independently of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

The judging panel will include external musical professionals.

We may share personal data with a third party where required or permitted by law.

Retaining your personal data
Personal data collected from the entry form will be held for nine (9) months after the date of submission.

Contributions that are broadcast and/or published will be retained and archived in perpetuity.

Other personal data from winning entrants and their parents/guardians will be retained for two (2) years for regulatory and compliance purposes.

If you are a teacher and sign up to our mailing list, we will hold your personal data for as long as you are actively engaging with it. If you remain inactive by not opening our email for two (2) years, your personal data will be deleted.

Your personal data will be stored in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA).

Your rights and more information
You have rights under data protection law:

• You can request a copy of the personal data the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ stores about you.
• You have the right to request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.
• You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted, however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to refuse your request.
• In certain circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data, or to object to the processing of your personal data.
• You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights, please visit the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at .

If you have a concern about the way the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) .

Updating this privacy notice
We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.