What support & activities are there over the winter break?

If you're in the UK, you should always dial 999 in an emergency; this will connect you with all emergency services. If you believe you are experiencing a health or medical emergency, you can visit Accident & Emergency (A&E) department at a local hospital, whether you are registered with NHS services or not. 

If you need help in an emergency on campus, please check our article Emergency & crisis support for students for details of help. 

Urgent help for mental health 

If you are worried for yourself or someone close to you, feeling despair with no-one to talk to, wanting to self harm or considering taking your own life, please take a look at our article I'm having suicidal thoughts, what should I do. 

We also recommend contacting the Samaritans - they can be reached by calling 116 123 or by sending an email.

For non-emergency mental health support when our usual services are closed, take a look at our article Mental health support during evenings, weekends & vacation periods.

King's Counselling Online (KCO) provides free and confidential, brief, solution-focused support for people who are experiencing low to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties. This is aimed at helping you quickly access counselling support and experience improved wellbeing. 

The service will be available for you to use during the winter break and when King's core services are closed between 19 December and 2 January 2026. 

Important to know: To enable you to access and use the King's Counselling Online service during the university's closure period, please make sure you have registered for the service before Friday 19 December 2025. 

To find out more about KCO and how to register, check out our article What is King's Counselling Online (KCO)?

If you are living in King's Residences, there is a dedicated Residence Welfare Lead on-call in every residence:

• Every night between 20.00-8:00
• Weekends and bank holidays between 08:00-20:00

The residence's reception desks will be staffed throughout the holidays with a reception team member or security guard present 24/7. They are there to support you throughout the break. The Residence Welfare Leads are there to support with a range of practical support, emotional help and guidance. You can find out how to contact the Residence Welfare Lead for your building online at King's Accommodation: Residence Welfare Leads.

You can text, call email or arrange a face-to-face meeting with the team. They are a friendly and non-judgemental presence in residences, and will be there for our students throughout the whole winter break. 

The King's Chaplaincy is a hub of support for all students and staff at King's, of all faiths and none. Chaplains walk alongside people who are going through dark periods, struggle and grief.

They also work closely with other support and service colleagues across King's to ensure that everyone's wellbeing - physical, mental emotional, as well as spiritual - is looked after and nurtured during uncertain times. For more information, please read How can the Chaplaincy support me?

Chaplains will be on-call while King's is closed for you to reach out to them if you'd like to. On call details can be found in the Chaplaincy's weekly newsletter.
 

To learn more about taking place at King's Chaplaincy, please read Visit the King's Chaplaincy.

Over the winter break, you may find it helpful to use some of our online resources to support your wellbeing. 

Get 24/7 wellbeing support by accessing Spectrum.Life, our new digital wellbeing platform. On Spectrum.Life, you’ll find a huge range of wellbeing support, including online yoga classes, nutrition plans, recipe ideas, mindfulness and much more. Find out more by reading Health and wellbeing support from Spectrum.Life.

The Student Wellbeing team have also made a series of videos which you may find helpful to watch and reflect on how you can support your own wellbeing at university.

The Chaplaincy is a resource for all students and staff at King's, of all faiths and none. They are inclusive: whoever you are, wherever you're from, whatever you believe, whomever you love - you are welcome.

To check out the full schedule of events the Chaplaincy are running, visit Chaplaincy: Special Services & Events. 

 Chaplaincy Newsletter 

If you'd like to receive the weekly newsletter, which will keep you up to date with current and future events and important notices, please email the Chaplaincy and ask to be added to the distribution list. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.

Are you staying in London over the Winter Break? Many King's students choose to stay in London while the university is closed and we would love to help bring you all together. 

Our Winter Buddies Event is an opportunity to meet with fellow King's students for fun games, activities and a free festive meal. We have 150 places available for students who are staying in London over the winter break. 

Where: Franklin-Wilkins Building Canteen, Waterloo Campus

When: Tuesday 16 December, 12.00 - 15.30  

This event is free to attend, sign up using the King's Winter Buddies form.

Over the winter break, there is always lots to do in London. Get involved with everything a large, bustling capital city has to offer.

• For a full guide to what’s on in London over Christmas, check out Visit London: Christmas in London.
• For some recommendations on free activities check out Londonist: Christmas In London: A Guide To Festive Events, Food and Drink.
• For a comprehensive list of all sorts of free things to do in London anytime, check out: Visit London: 101 free things to do in London.
• If you fancy the dramatic, London’s theatre scene is one of the best and most famous the world over; the West End has more shows than you could manage to squeeze into your break – check out what’s on at London Theatre Direct.  You can use TodayTix to get discounted tickets to top London shows.​​​​​​​

If you need IT support while studying over the winter break, King's IT specialists are available 24/7, 365 days a year and will help you get your IT-related queries sorted. For more information, please read our article I need IT support, what should I do?

If you're keen to work on your digital skills during your break, the Essential Digital Skills programme will still be available to you during this time.

The programme offers a range of skills to help support your academic, career and personal development.

• The programme is an online and self-paced course that takes up to 30 hours to complete
• You'll be awarded the digital certificate when you pass the quizzes

The Essential Digital Skills programme is available to you all year around. To find out more about the programme, check out our article with more details: How can I develop my digital skills?