IT Support Services over the Winter Break 2025/2026

The University closes for the festive break at 17:00, Wednesday 24 December 2025 and re-opens at 08:30, Monday 5 January 2026. 

All University teaching, research and central administrative buildings will be closed, except for some 24hr clusters: 

• Old Library Cluster 1.57 (Old Library Building)

• Fell Cluster (Cookson Building)

• NUSU Central Cluster (Hadrian Building)

Opening arrangements for the University Libraries can be found at University Library - Explore the possibilities - University Library - Newcastle University 

University security staff are on duty 24/7; telephone 0191 208 6817 or email security.control@newcastle.ac.uk

IT Support 

Telephone calls to the IT Service Desk will be automatically forwarded to the Out-of-Hours Support Service on the following date: 

• 12:00 – 17:00 17 December 2025 – Normal service resumes 08:00 18 December 2025 

The Walk Up IT Support Services at the Philip Robinson Library and Frederick Douglass Centre will be closed for the afternoon of: 

• 12:00 – 17:00 16 December 2025 - Normal service resumes 08:30 17 December 2025 

IT Support Services will close for the winter break from 17:00 on 24 December 2025 until 08:00 on 5 January 2026.  

During this time, 24/7 Out-of-Hours IT Support will be provided by our Out of Hours Team via our usual telephone number 0191 208 5999 supporting basic common queries. 
  
For IT support and knowledge please refer to our website at IT Service (NUIT) | IT Service (NUIT) | Newcastle University.  For other ways to get in touch visit our Contacts Page. 
  
Please be advised that technical support will not be available during the closed period. Any service disruption is likely to persist until the University reopens. 

MFA – Don’t get locked out of your university account! 

If a new phone is on your present list, it’s a good idea to add an extra authentication method.  

With more than one sign-in method (like SMS), you can still access university IT services if you change (or lose!) your phone.  Add one now at https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info.

Cyber Security 

We will be making some changes to protect our systems over the Christmas period. We will contact you directly if you are affected by these changes.  

Email and OneDrive 

Check your University email and access your OneDrive at office365.ncl.ac.uk  
  
Access your files and University software 
 
Access your University files off-campus at filr.ncl.ac.uk. You can also access files and University software via the Azure Virtual Desktop. .

Student Portal, Canvas and ReCap 

Services will be available as normal