All the Nightline services that have closed for good across UK universities

Since the Nightline Association announced its impending closure back in February, the future of university Nightlines appears uncertain. An umbrella charity for nightlines across the UK, the association announced it will officially be closing from June 30th.

Many university Nightlines, including those at Liverpool Hope University and the University of Bath, have released statements saying they will remain open as long as possible. However, they have also explained they are unsure whether they will be able to continue operating next academic year.

Meanwhile, other Nightlines have cut down on some of services in order to remain open, including the University of Dundee Nightline, which closed its anonymous email service and temporarily closed its phone lines, leaving only an instant messaging service running.

However, some set ups across UK unis seem to have been endangered for years now, forcing a number of services to close since 2015. Consequently, here’s a rundown of all the Nightline services which are confirmed as closed across uk unis.

University of Birmingham

The Nightline for the University of Birmingham closed down in November 2023 after running for 46 years. It credited being “separated from the University of Birmingham’s Guild of Students in 2020” for the main reason for its closure, despite efforts to “remain open as an independent charity”.

This separation from the Guild also meant Birmingham Nightline had to reduce opening days to Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from October 2022. This was also to support “volunteer’s availability and welfare”.

In its final post, Birmingham Nightline thanked “every wonderful individual who has ever volunteered their time to make Birmingham Nightline what it was.”

University of Bristol

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After 40 years, Bristol Nightline closed its phone line and messaging service in February this year. In a post on Instagram, it said this was due to “the closure of the Nightline Association (NLA) announced earlier this year”.

However, Bristol Nightline also made it clear that the service will continue as a society for students at the University of Bristol.

It stressed its key aim to continue “to support students on campus, and to further the goal of improving student mental health.” It also said it would work with the community “to provide signposting resources” and “support other student groups” for students at other Bristol institutions.

Last week, it released its plans for the future of Bristol Nightline, which will include listening training, peer support and socials, as well as outreach and fundraising with other mental health groups.

University of Manchester

Greater Manchester Nightline was forced to close its service in September 2023. In a closing statement, it said this decision was made by the University of Manchester’s Student Union (SU). It also said its volunteers were “devastated by this decision”. Instead, Manchester students can turn to its uni’s Counselling and Mental Health Service and the SU’s Advice Team for emotional support.

The Student Union told The Manchester Tab it recognises the “dedication volunteers past and present have contributed, something they should take great pride in”. It will support these volunteers by “providing alternative volunteering opportunities so they can continue to channel their passions for helping students here in Manchester”.

University of York

Following a temporary closure in April 2023, York Nightline announced it would be permanently closed in September of that year after over 50 years of operations. Its announcement said: “After months of discussions with YUSU through the suspension of us as a service last term, the decision was made to not re-ratify Nightline as a YUSU project.” The decision brought it “great sadness” but was ultimately out of its control according to its final Instagram post.

In the official YUSU statement, Community and Wellbeing Officer Hannah Nimmo wrote this decision was made “following substantial concerns relating to the practical and emotional impact of the project on both our volunteers and York Nightline’s users.” Instead, YUSU directed students towards Talk Campus, an instant and free service for student mental health.

However, in an interview with The York Tab, former York Nightline volunteers made it clear “YUSU could absolutely have done more to support volunteers, they just chose not to listen to what we needed” and the closure has meant “a significant gap in student support.”

University of Sheffield

After half a century of operations, Sheffield Nightline closed down in August 2023. The Nightline supported students and had volunteers from both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. In its final statement, the Nightline said this “sad” decision was a result of “months of long discussions with staff from the University of Sheffield SU and Sheffield Hallam University SU”.

Following this closure, Sheffield SU said “there are plenty of other support services available”, including the A-Z of Support Services at the uni, NHS Sheffield Talking Therapies and Mental Health Matters’ Sheffield Support Hub.

Northumbria University

Northumbria Nightline closed in February 2022. It gave no explicit reason for their closure in its final post on Instagram but said “It has been a great pleasure and honour to be trusted by so many in all these years.”

University of East Anglia

Last week, Norwich Nightline announced its closure, writing: “UEA and the SU have decided not to fund us beyond this academic year”. UEA Nightline faced many challenges, with its office damaged by floods over the Christmas holidays forcing it to temporarily close for the Lent term, which UEA did not fix. This also caused its email service to close down in March. Additionally, the closure of the Nightline Association has meant it will lose technical support and funding, which the SU cannot afford.

However, Norwich Nightline has created a petition with the aim of persuading UEA to cover their increased operating costs for a year. The petition currently has nearly 800 signatures. Within that year, they hope to “restore Nightline to what it was before Covid: Open for 12 hours, seven days a week.”

Canterbury Christ Church University

The last update from the Canterbury Nightline service was in March 2024. There have been no further public messages from the group and Canterbury Nightline is no longer recognised by the Nightline Association website.

University of Southampton

Nightline Southampton has been inactive since May 2021. Like the Canterbury Nightline, it too is no longer recognised by the Nightline Association website.

University of Stirling

Stirling Nightline’s last post announced it would be closing its instant messenger service over the summer from June 2022. However, there have been no updates since and its service is no longer recognised by the Nightline Association.