Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE; ) is an educational institution in Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland, a college of further and higher education.

Management

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is managed by the City of Dublin Educational and Training Board (CDETB) with a local Board of Management representative of the community and special interests, industry, services and commerce, and students and staff. The CDETB is the statutory agency for vocational and technological education for the City of Dublin. It manages 21 schools and colleges, which cater for 11,000 students. As of 2021, Ms Cecilia Munro was the principal of the college and the deputy principals were Ms Jacqueline Moloney, Dr Denis Murray and Mr Kenneth Rea.

History

The college opened in 1979 as the Senior College Ballyfermot Sr. Dr. Margaret Mac Curtain OP was its founding principal.Margaret Mac Curtain
Womens International Center. Since then the college has worked with a range of educational and industrial partners to develop and offer a wide range of successful courses in further and higher education. The college caters for students from the age of 17 and upwards. The college offers a choice of 39 courses of Further and Higher Education in 9 departmental.

Senior College Ballyfermot (SCB)

The Senior College opened in September 1979 to provide the Leaving Certificate to students from Ballyfermot. After consultation with local secondary schools, it was decided that students from three of the local schools, Ballyfermot Vocational School, Caritas and St Dominic's, would complete their Leaving Certificate exams in the Senior College. The new school offered a wide range of subjects to the boys and girls in the area. The new College also offered secretarial courses to post Leaving and post-Intermediate Certificate students, as well as pre-employment courses for post-Intermediate students. During the 1980s a range of post-Leaving Cert. courses was introduced into the College, including Preliminary Engineering which had links with Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton Street, Hotel Catering and Tourism courses which had links with CERT, business courses and social care courses. Most of these courses continue today. In the 1990s the Senior College gave up its Leaving Certificate classes, which returned to the local schools and continued to develop Post-Leaving Certificate courses. In 2000 the Senior College changed its name to Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE).

Departments

Within BCFE there are several Departments: Art, Design and Graphics, Moving Images, Business, Engineering, Lifelong Learning, Media, Music, Performance, Management and Sound, Social Care, Television and Film, Travel, Tourism and Reception. The college delivers two degrees, one in Media Production Management (accredited by Dublin City University) and one in Animation (validated by

Dundee University , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , t ...

), and a number of BTEC Higher National Diplomas and

QQI Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI; ga, Dearbhú Cáilíochta agus Cáilíochtaí Éireann) is the national agency responsible for qualifications in Ireland. It was established by the Oireachtas in 2012 following the amalgamation of the ...

Level 5 courses.

Buildings

There are 3 separate buildings within BCFE college. The Main Building and Media Building are side by side, to the left of Ballyfermot Road if coming from the city centre direction. The Arts building is located a short distance away on Kylemore Road.

Alumni

Sara Baume Sara Baume (born 1984) is an Irish novelist. Life Her father is of English descent while her mother is of Irish descent. As her parents travelled around in a caravan, Sara Baume was born "on the road to Wigan Pier". When she was 4, they moved ...

, novelist *

Sarah Breen Sarah Breen is an Irish journalist and co-author of the ''Aisling'' series of novels. Background Breen is from Borris, County Carlow. After leaving secondary school in 2000, she studied languages at Dublin City University for a year. In 2003, ...

, author * Junior Brother, musician * Daragh O'Connell, co-founder of

Brown Bag Films Brown Bag Films (BBF) is an Irish television CGI and computer animation production studio owned by Canadian production studio 9 Story Media Group and based in Dublin with 2D and 3D animation facilities based in Bali, Toronto and formerly Man ...

, animation graduate 1992 *

Eileen Flynn Eileen Roche, née Flynn (1955 – 9 September 2008) was a schoolteacher in County Wexford, Ireland, who was dismissed in 1982 for cohabiting with a married man.985IEHC 1, sec.10 In 1985, the High Court ruled this did not constitute unfair d ...

, member of the 26th Seanad * Riyadh Khalaf, Celebrity Masterchef winner 2020, YouTube influencer *

Emer McLysaght Emer McLysaght (born 1980) is an Irish journalist and co-author of the ''Aisling'' series of novels. Background McLysaght is from Kill, County Kildare. After secondary school, she attended Trinity College Dublin, where she studied biology for a ...

, journalist and author *

Tomm Moore Thomas "Tomm" Moore (born 7 January 1977) is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He co-founded Cartoon Saloon with Nora Twomey and Paul Young, an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. His ...

, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon * Aidan Power, television and radio presenter * Mairead Ronan, television and radio presenter * Nora Twomey, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon * Paul Young, co-founder and CEO of Cartoon Saloon

References

External links

Ballyfermot College of Further Education
* https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/animators-are-drawing-praise-1.48902 * https://www.awn.com/blog/tonight-reunion-ballyers {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballyfermot College Of Further Education Further education colleges in South Dublin (county)