It seems that CompilationMode=Never doesn't permit Sessions to be properly wired. It first complains that the EnbaleSessionState directive is not allowed on this page. Explicitly assigning the System.Web.SessionState.IRequiresSessionState to the Page [1] avoids the null reference exceptions (around .Session access) but still doesn't persist or wire-up sessions correctly. Has anyone successfully used ASP.NET Sessions with CompilationMode=Never? Conceptually, why should these be disjoint?? [1] - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.web.ui.compilationmode.aspx