The University will be closed from Monday 21 December until Monday 4 January. Find out more about the support and services that will be available to you during the holiday period.

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Festive break University closure dates

For full schedule of the holiday closure dates, please check the attached holiday Estates closure dates 2020-2021 document below.

Out of hours contact support

For out of hours support, please call 020 7911 5000 ext.5555. You will be directed to notifications which will help sign post you to the relevant help or advice lines.  

Students’ Union

Your Students’ Union will provide online support for any queries over the break except on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December. If you need to contact UWSU, please email [email protected].

You can also access the self-help links that your Students' Union have put together here.

Do not forget to take part in their ‘Together in Lockdown’ support campaign where you can meet and engage with other students at Westminster. 

Hub Live Chat and Student Support Services 

Student Support Services and Hub Chat will operate as normal until 5pm on Friday 18 December and from Monday 4 January 2021.  

The Student Hub provides lots of online information and guidance on Student Support and Services. 

Residential Life Services 

The Residential Life Services will operate throughout the closure period with support available via the staffed receptions. 

Library Services  

Marylebone Library will be open for individual study from 10am – 8pm on the following dates: 

  • Monday 21 – Wednesday 23 December  

  • Monday 28 December – Sunday 3 January  

Study space will be available at Cavendish and Harrow libraries until 7pm on Friday 18 December and from 11am on Monday 4 January.

Please ensure you always book a study space using Book a Space - this includes if you would like to study in Marylebone Library on the dates above.

The last date to place a request for printed material is Wednesday 9 December and you can collect your reservations until 7pm on Friday 18 December.  

The Inter Library Loan service for electronic materials will operate until Friday 18 December and will resume on Monday 4 January. 

Westminster Menswear Archive 

The Westminster Menswear Archive will be open as usual until 5pm on Friday 11 December. There will be limited staffing from Monday 4 January and normal service will resume from Monday 11 January. 

Online Library support and resources

Library chat will operate as normal until 5pm on Sunday 20 December and from 9am Monday 4 January 2021.  

The online guide to Library and Archive services during Covid-19 includes links to our large collection of electronic resources and academic skills training, all of which can be accessed at any time.  

Online learning support and resources

Services and support for Blackboard and other online learning tools will operate as usual until 5pm on Friday 18 December and will resume from 9am on Monday 4 January. 

Between these dates you can access our online support resources and knowledge bank to seek advice and guidance 
 
In addition, there will be 24/7 monitoring of the Blackboard VLE during the entire period (Friday 18 December – Friday 4 January) and any system outages will be attended to by the service providers. 

Registry

The Campus Registry and Central Registry Services will be available until Friday 18 December and will re-open on Monday 4 January.

Service Desk and Information Systems and Support maintenance 

ISS support and Service Desk will be operating as normal until Friday 18 December 6pm and will resume on Monday 4 January. 

Access to University resources and platforms will still be available as normal during the Christmas break.

Sustainability 

Holiday switch-off campaign

During the festive period, we will ensure to reduce energy consumption on all campuses to the minimum when not being used from Friday 18 December.

If you are living in the University’s halls and going home for Christmas, please remember to switch off (if possible) and unplug all non-essential equipment at the plug.

Security

During the quieter periods of the holidays, there will be a security presence at all our locations, even though our sites will be closed during this period (see holiday Estates closures document for more details).

Find out more about our support and services.

Find out more about our wellbeing resources.

Press and media enquiries

Contact us on:

[email protected]