Christmas Closure Information 2026

As we approach the festive period, we would like to share some important information about Open Awards’ operational arrangements over Christmas and New Year.

Office Closure

Open Awards offices will close at 15:00 on Wednesday 23 December 2026 and will reopen at 08:00 on Monday 4 January 2027.

Remote Invigilation – Functional Skills Assessments and Apprenticeship Assessment/ End-Point Assessment (EPA) Knowledge Tests

For Functional Skills assessments and EPA knowledge tests using our remote invigilation service, the final assessment time before Christmas will be 13:00 on Wednesday 23 December 2026.

Remote invigilation bookings will resume from 09:00 on Monday 4 January 2027.

The XAMS assessment platform will remain fully operational throughout the festive period for assessments that you invigilate yourselves. However, please be aware that technical and customer service support will not be available while our offices are closed.

Apprenticeship Assessment/End-Point Assessment (EPA) Bookings

The final deadline for EPA bookings before Christmas will be 14:00 on Friday 18 December 2026.

Assessments will resume from 09:00 on Monday 4 January 2027.

Results Release

Please note that the period from 23 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 will not be counted as working days when calculating results release timeframes. We therefore encourage you to consider these arrangements carefully when scheduling assessments around the festive period.

Our final results release before Christmas will take place on Tuesday 22 December 2026, with results releases resuming on Tuesday 5 January 2027.

If you have any questions or require support ahead of the Christmas closure, please contact us by 10 December 2026 so that our team can assist you.