South West College, Omagh (02), January 2010

Omagh College of Further Education (often referred to as just Omagh College or "The Tech" by locals) is a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The college is based in one central

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

in the Town Centre (however up until recently it was three campuses spread out throughout the whole

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

). In 2007 it became part of the new

South West College The South West College operates in Northern Ireland on four campuses in Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen and Omagh and, of the six new area based colleges, it is the smallest in size, but it covers the largest geographical area of counties T ...

Location

The campus building is located directly north of the main town centre, fronting the

River Strule The River Strule is a small river in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The river has its source in the confluence of the rivers Camowen and Drumragh at Omagh. The Strule runs to north and meets the rivers Fairy Water and Owenkillew before joi ...

and conveniently next to the town's main

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

. Opposite the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

is the location of what will be the Omagh Civic Arts Centre (completion due sometime around October 2007), and already a planned pedestrian

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

will link the two

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

buildings.

Building

The college

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

is very modern (having only opened in October 2005) four-story building, with some of the best facilities in

. The building comprises a curved central area, with 'wings' coming out of the North and West sides. Expanding from the North Wing is a one-story block consisting of mechanical

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

s. The North-West area of the site is a large car park (

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

) with disabled parking. Areas of the College: *Curved Wing *Industrial Area *North Wing *West Wing

Courses

The college offers many full-time and part-time

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

s in the following subjects: Full-Time *Health & Social Care *Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy *Fashion & Arts *Computing & Information Technology *Business Studies *Sport, Leisure & Tourism *Catering & Hospitality *Construction, Electrical & Engineering *Environmental/Agricultural *Electronics & Technology *Media & Design Part-Time *Health & Social Care *Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy *Fashion, Arts & Design *Computing & Information Technology *Business & Professional Development *Sport & Leisure *Catering & Hospitality *Construction, Electrical & Engineering *Construction Electrical & Engineering Operations *Electronics & Electrical *Environmental/Agricultural *Higher Education *Hobbies & Personal Interests *Community, Health & Social Practice *Computing & Graphic Design *Finance, Business & Professional Development *Personal Development

Resources & Facilities

*Learning Resource Centre *Hair & Beauty Centre *Conference Centre *Student Social Area *College Bistro *'The Gallery'

Restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

*Community Outreach Centres *Car parking *Crèche Facilities *Video Conferencing Suite *

Student Union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.swc.ac.uk, title=South West College - Further Education College. Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen & Omagh, publisher=www.swc.ac.uk, accessdate=2010-01-13 Omagh Further education colleges in Northern Ireland