Support over Winter Closure

The Careers Service will operate our full range of services online only from Monday 15 to Monday 22 December inclusive. It will be fully closed from Tuesday 23 December to Friday 2 January. The My CVs service (part of JobsLive) will close at 12.00 on Friday 19 December and re-open at 12.00 on Monday 5 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.

> Careers Service homepage

The Disability Advisory Service will see students until the end of term on Friday 12 December. From Monday 15 to Friday 19 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 Monday 5 January.

> Disability Advisory Service homepage

Ethos Sports Centre will operate reduced hours from Saturday 13 – Monday 22 December 2025 and on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 January 2026.It will be closed from Tuesday 23 December to Friday 2 January (inclusive).

Whilst Ethos Sports Centre is closed you can still stay active using our free Move Online platform.

> Ethos Christmas opening hours

The Harassment Support Team will operate a reduced service from Monday 15 December. We will continue responding to queries from students already open to the team via harassment-support@imperial.ac.uk until midday on Monday 22 December for students already using the service. Queries from students who are not yet open to the service will still be received and triaged but students may not receive a response until we reopen in the new year.

The Report + Support tool will remain available throughout the holiday period, but any new referrals submitted after Tuesday 16 December will be reviewed, and receive a response after we reopen on Wednesday 7 January. For support during the winter closure, please consult the external support information page.

> External support information

The Union Helpdesk will close from Friday 12 December and the Advice Service will close from Thursday 18 December. Venues, along with final club and society bookings, will close on Friday 12 December. The Union Shop will close on Thursday 18 December.

The Beit Building will be fully closed from 17.00 on Friday 19 December, with access restricted to essential Imperial operational staff only. The Union will reopen on Monday 5 January, except for the venues and retail outlets, which will reopen on Wednesday 7 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 Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day), Friday 26 December (Boxing Day), and Thursday 1 January (New Year’s Day). Hours will differ for other campus libraries; follow the link for exact opening hours.

> Library Christmas opening hours

The Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service will close for the winter break at 16.00 on 22 December and reopen at 09.00 on 5 January. During this time, you can still complete, a registration form, but it will only be reviewed when the service reopens. We encourage you to use other sources of help for urgent support. 

> Extra information about mental health support

The Student Hub will operate reduced hours Thursday 18 and Monday 22 December.

The South Kensington Hub will open:

• Thursday 18 and Friday 19 December, 10.00–12.45 and 14.00–16.00
• Monday 22 December, 10.00-14.30

During our reduced opening hours you can always also call us on +44 (0)20 7594 9444 or email us at student.hub@imperial.ac.uk. 

The Student Hub will be fully closed (including phone and online support) from 14.30 on Monday 22 December, re-opening at 10.00 on Monday 5 January.

The White City Student Hub will close at 16.00 on Friday 19 December, reopening at 10.00 on Monday 5 January.

Student self-service (for statement of registration and transcripts) is available via My Documents.

> Student Hub homepage

> White City Student Support Services page

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.

> Support in Halls

The Underrepresented Students Support Service will close for the winter break at 17.00 on Thursday 18 December and reopen on Monday 5 January. You can still register for the service and book meetings for January during the break.

> Underrepresented Students Support homepage

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:

• 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.

• Spending Christmas in the UK as an International Student - International Student House
• Finding a community during the holiday season - International Student House