Below, you'll see a number of frequently asked questions about Nightline and the services we provide. You might just find the answer to one of your own questions here, too!

Nightline is a listening and information service for students at the University of St Andrews.

You can get in touch with Nightline either by phone or by email. Call us at (01334 46) 2266, from 8pm to 7am, or email us at anytime at nightline[at]st-andrews.ac.uk. We aim to answer every email within twenty four hours and promise to respond to every email within forty-eight hours.

Nightline is open from 8pm-7am or email us anytime that halls are open (term time, plus reading week, exam periods, intersemester break, and easter break.)

Nightline is staffed by two trained listening volunteers, a male and a female, every night we are open. All volunteers are students at the University of St Andrews.

You can talk about anything that you would like to. We're here to listen to you, not to direct or steer the conversation.

There is no set limit to how often you can contact Nightline. We’re available for students as often as they would like to get in touch.

For more details about this, check out the Get Involved page of our site. We recruit at the beginning of each semester, and do not take on any additional listening volunteers outside of our recruitment periods.

Nightline is a confidential service: we will not pass on any information contained in a contact without the caller’s explicit permission except for the following two circumstances. Where a specific, credible threat has been made by the caller against another individual; and, where we are required to do so under the Terrorism Act of 2000. For further information, please consult our full confidentiality policy.

People contact Nightline for a variety of reasons. There is no typical call or email, and no subject that is too big or too small. Topics that people may contact Nightline to discuss include stress, taxi numbers, relationships, the number for hall wardens, bereavement, suicide, academic concerns, loneliness… anything that may be on your mind.

Yes. There is a male and a female volunteer on duty every night that Nightline is open.

You can email Nightline at any time at nightline[at]st-andrews.ac.uk, and we will reply once the service is open. For immediate support, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day for anyone experiences feelings of distress or despair on 08457 90 90 90 or at jo[at]samaritans.org.uk. For St Andrews specific information the ASC (Advice and Support Centre) is located at 79 North Street for any student-related issue.

Nightline is run entirely by student volunteers within the University of St Andrews.

Yes, anyone can call Nightline. However, we are specifically oriented towards answering the calls of students at the University of St Andrews. Many other universities have their own Nightline, you can see if your's does here.

We understand that it can be difficult to talk sometimes. Your call is always welcome, and you can take as much time as you need to feel comfortable talking. If you would prefer to write your thoughts down, you can email us at nightline[at]st-andrews.ac.uk.

Nightline volunteers are here to listen to you and what you would like to talk about. We will never pressure you to talk about something that you don't want to.

Nightline is a listening service, and our volunteers are trained to remain non-directive. We are here to help you explore your feelings and your options if you want to, but we will never advocate for a certain course of action. If you are looking for advice, but don't know who to contact, we can give you information about services that can provide advice.

The first Nightline was established in 1970 at the University of Essex. There are now over 40 throughout the UK and beyond, with our own Nightline approaching its 40th birthday.

There are four public faces of St Andrews Nightline. These are the Director, the Deputy Director, the Training & Recruitment Officer, and the Publicity Officer. They are the only four non-anonymous, or "public", volunteers within Nightline, and use their public status to raise awareness of Nightline within the student community and represent Nightline externally.

To protect both our callers/emailers and our volunteers, Nightline will never ask you for any identifying information or reveal details about any of our listening volunteers. This is to allow users of Nightline to feel more comfortable talking about any issue that they might be worried or embarrassed about, and you will never know who you spoke to.

Nightline is an autonomous, student-run organisation independent from the University and the Students' Association. Only where a specific, credible threat has been made by the caller against another individual; or, where we are required to do so under the Terrorism Act of 2000 will we pass on information. For further information, please read our confidentiality policy.