(Updated 31/5/26)
Until May 2026, our courses were run on the Canvas Platform, until they were the victim of a cyber attack.
What’s happened?
The online classroom platform Canvas, was hit by a major cyber attack on around the 7th of May 2026, and as a result, our courses have not been available. The site was up briefly for a few hours on 13 May, then 27-29th May, but now the “Free for Teachers” serbvice has been withdrawn.

We’re as frustrated by this as you are, but as a small course provider, we have no control over this situation.
How can I carry on studying?
If you were on a course using Canvas and need to continue, there are options, as follows:
- Free access to the videos via YouTube: See Foundation Online Playlist
- Ad-free downloadable videos are available to paid Patreon members: HamTrain Patreon
- The course is available in book format – paperback, Kindle, Apple Books, Google Books: Foundation Study Guide – A book of mock tests is also available
- If you want to access the material in a course format, you can now access our new platform and all modules straight away. Price is £6 – See Foundation On Demand
- Free mock papers on the RSGB Website, ours can be purchased here or we have a book of 6 complete mock tests Foundation Mock Tests (paperback or e-book).
- If you found our course useful, but don’t think the course is worth paying for, we will soon be offering a free course again shortly. You will be able to sign up for a free place on a free course from the 10th of June via our site – www.hamtrain.co.uk.
Paid for a course or mocks previously?
If you have paid for a course on Canvas and still want to access course material, we can help. To get started, you’ll need to sign up for a free student account on the new platform. To do this, go to https://courses.essexham.co.uk/registration/ and create a student account.
When you’ve done this, contact us to let me know, and we’ll manually set you up. If you may see an option to pay for access – don’t pay. We’ll set you up for free.
What about future courses?
Since the incident with Canvas, we’ve scrambled to get a new classroom platform up and running. After some testing, we have this new environment in place for courses and mocks. You will be able to sign up for a free place on a free course from the 10th of June via our site – www.hamtrain.co.uk.
Again, we’re sorry that the Canvas hack has slowed down your study – this is obviously outside our control, but the good news is that we’re now back on a platform we own, and you can restart your study should you wish.
Hopefully, that explains what’s happening and what your options are.
Best regards,
HamTrain
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