The Winter holiday is the only period during the year where the university is closed for a prolonged period of time. For many, the holidays are a perfect period to unwind with family and enjoy the festivities however for many it won't be that easy. Be it family problems, not having a stable home to go to, pressures of upcoming assessments, or financial difficulties at home, the holiday period can be a difficult time for some.
This page outlines the service provision at the university over the festive period and what support is available this year.
University service opening hours
From 17.00 on Friday 20 December until Thursday 2 January the university will be closed for normal operation and service provision will be extremely limited. You can find out more about opening hours and availability of various university services below. Whilst our services are closed for a short time, you can still contact them via email and a member of staff will be in touch as soon as possible when the university reopens on Thursday 2 January.
University service opening hours
- Careers Service
- Disability Advisory Service
- Ethos
- Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Support
- Imperial College Union
- Library Services
- Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service
- Student Hub
- Support in Halls
- Underrepresented Students Support Service
The Careers Service will operate online only between Monday 16 and Friday 20 December and on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 January. It will be fully closed from Saturday 23 December to Wednesday 1 January. The My CVs service (part of JobsLive) will close at 12.00 on Thursday 19 December and re-open at 12.00 on Thursday 2 January. A range of information is available online to assist with career planning and applications during the vacation period, including interview preparation from Shortlist.Me.
The Disability Advisory Service will see students until the end of term on Friday 13 December. From Monday 16 to Friday 20 December, we will not hold appointments but can still be contacted via email.
The service will be closed over the holidays, with no monitoring of calls or emails. New appointments will be released at midday on Thursday 2 January.
Ethos Sports Centre will operate reduced hours from Thursday 14 to Wednesday 20 December and on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 January. It will be closed from Thursday 21 December to Monday 1 January.
The Harassment Support Service will respond to queries via harassment-support@imperial.ac.uk until midday on Friday 20 December for students already using the service. The Report + Support tool will remain available throughout the holiday period, but any new referrals submitted after Tuesday 17 December will be reviewed when the service reopens on Friday 3 January. For support during the winter closure, please consult the external support information page.
The Union helpdesk and Advice service will close from Wednesday 13 December. Venues, along with final club and society bookings, will close on Friday 15 December. The Union Shop will close on Tuesday 19 December.
The Beit Building will close at 14.00 on Friday 20 December, with access restricted to Union staff and essential Imperial operational staff only. The Union will reopen on Saturday 6 January, except for the Union Shops, which will reopen on Tuesday 9 January.
The Abdus Salam Library will remain open for self-service only during most of the Christmas and New Year period but will close on Monday 25 December (Christmas Day), Tuesday 26 December (Boxing Day), and Monday 1 January (New Year’s Day). Hours will differ for other campus libraries; follow the link for exact opening hours.
The Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service will close for the Christmas break at 16.00 on Friday 20 December and reopen at 09.00 on Thursday 2 January. During this time, you can still complete the counselling registration form, but it will only be reviewed when the service reopens. You will not be able to complete a Concerned About a Student referral during this period; we encourage you to use other sources of help for urgent support.
The Student Hub will operate reduced hours from Monday 18 to Wednesday 20 December and on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 January. The South Kensington Hub will open:
- Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 December, 10.00–12.30 and 14.00–16.00
- Wednesday 20 December, 10.00–14.00
It will close from Thursday 21 December to Monday 1 January.
The White City Student Hub will close at 14.00 on Wednesday 20 December and will also be closed from Thursday 21 December to Monday 1 January, reopening at 10.00 on Tuesday 2 January.
Student self-service (for statement of registration and transcripts) is available via My Documents.
Warden teams in halls will operate on a rota over the Christmas holiday to provide support for students staying in halls. As usual, contact your warden duty number if you need assistance.
The Underrepresented Students Support Service will close for the winter break at 17.00 on Monday 16 December and reopen on Thursday 2 January. You can still register for the service and book meetings for January during the break.
Support resources
While Imperial's support is mostly closed over the holidays, there are still many sources of support open if you need to just talk to someone. Listening services provide you a space where you can get things off your chest, talk an issue through with someone, or just vent about something bothering you, all with a trained volunteer who will listen non-judgmentally.
- Student Minds are offering one-to-one support for whatever challenge you're facing. Whether it's your mental wellbeing, your studies, money, housing or relationships, you can reach out to one of their trained volunteers for free and confidential support. You can contact them via phone, text, webchat, or email. Visit Student Minds' Support Services page for more information about opening hours and contact details.
- The Samaritans is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for you to talk to for free over the phone on 116 123, or over email at jo@samaritans.org. You can talk to them confidentially about anything at all - you don't need to be in a crisis or severely struggling to get in touch.
If you need immediate help to stay safe – especially if you think you might act on suicidal thoughts, or you've harmed yourself and need urgent medical attention dial 999 or go to your nearest Accident and Emergency Department.
There are a number of organisations who can support you if you are experiencing a mental health crisis:
- Maytree – call +44 (0)20 7263 7070 to arrange a short-term stay in a safe environment
- The Samaritans – call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org for help
- Shout crisis text line – text 85258 for help
- Papyrus Hopeline – call +44 (0)80 0068 4141, text +44 (0)77 8620 9697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org for support and advice
There are a wealth of self-help resources that you can explore to support yourself over the holidays. Two key ones are summarised below:
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Want to stay active over the closure period? Move Online is a free online platform with a host of physical activity and wellbeing classes. The platform can be accessed anytime. Click here to access Move Online and login using your Imperial login details.
- Student Minds winter break resources will provide you advice about how you can make the winter break work for you, whatever your plans or circumstances. The articles are particularly useful if you're anxious about spending time at home, or if you're expecting to still be at university over the holidays.
- The Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice have created some resources that are aimed at supporting you over the Christmas period. You can access these via their other sources of support page.
- Student Space (provided by Student Minds) provides a wealth of year-round resources, advice, and information to support you through your time as a student.
We understand that many international students might not be able to go home this Christmas and are facing the prospect of Christmas day alone. The winter break may be a difficult time for some international students who have to stay in London, but there are many ways that you can make the most of your break.
Imperial's International Student Support team have a dedicated webpage with advice on how to spend Christmas in the UK as an international student.
There are also external sources of information you could take a look at below for some more useful tips.