Bridgetown Vocational College
Bridgetown College in Bridgetown, County Wexford, Ireland, is managed by the Wexford and Waterford Education and Training Board.
History
The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 followed by the Royal Dublin Society in 1731. These bodies sought to promote improvements in agricultural husbandry, manufacture and the useful arts and to promote the study of the sciences. These initiatives saw the development of a number of regional centres. These in turn paved the way for the Mechanics' Institutes - one of which was subsequently located in Wexford town. During the nineteenth century official bodies such as the Commissioners for National Education (1831) and the Department of Science and Art (1851) extended state support to technical and manual instruction. In 1893 the Technical Education Association of Ireland was founded and it articulated the need for a national system of technical training. 1899 saw the passing of the Agriculture and Technical Instruction (Ireland) Act.
Some time after the enactment of the Vocational Education Act in 1930, a small experimental vocational school was established in rented accommodation in Bridgetown village. Enrolment crept up slowly and it was not until the 1960s that the need for a proper post-primary school in the area was fully accepted. So it was that on 18 October 1965, 44 students and five teachers moved from the rented accommodation into a new purpose-built school.
The numbers continued to increase and by 1976, when students sat for the Leaving Cert, for the first time, enrolment stood at 329. To cope with the increasing numbers, a new building was officially opened by the Minister for Education on 12 October 1984. With an annual turnover of some 120 students, Bridgetown Vocational College now houses a community of 637 students, 48 teachers and ten ancillary staff.
A building extension started in 2006 and was completed in Summer 2007. The extension has a floor area of 18002 metres and provides additional facilities : eight general classrooms, a new art room, a science laboratory, a tiered demonstration room, a technology room, a senior engineering room, a general purpose and dining area, a new staff room, a new administration area and extra toilet and cloakroom facilities. Land has also been purchased which is due to be developed into a playing pitch.
The extension to the gymnasium was completed on 2 March 2007 with the new building extension completed the following September.
Ethos
Non-denominational, co-educational and non-selective in its intake, the college ethos is broadly Christian.
Bridgetown
Bridgetown is a small village, located fifteen minutes away from Wexford town, less than ten minutes away from Duncormick and a few kilometres from the village of Kilmore Quay. Close to the school, is the local Post Office. A few hundred yards from the school is the local newsagents and butchers.
Courses
The College offers the Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate, Post Leaving Certificate and Evening Courses.
A small night class programme operates with classes advertised in Autumn and Spring.
50th Anniversary
On 18 December 2003, Bridgetown Vocational College celebrated its golden jubilee. A booklet, compiled by Mr. Jim Hurley, was published to commemorate the event in which past students, dating back to when the school opened its doors under the Teacher-in-Charge (or Principal), Pádraig Kinsella in a large store a few hundred yards from where the school is now. From those beginnings, the school has grown to accommodate around 650 students after the major extension in 1984 which improved facilities for staff and students.
Bridgetown School Completion Programme
The School Completion Programme is a Department of Education and Skills Programme that aims to have a significant impact on the level of pupil retention in primary and second level schools and on the number of pupils who successfully complete Senior Cycle. The schools currently in the Bridgetown School Completion Programme are Bridgetown VC., Kilmore NS., Rathangan NS., and Kilrane NS. The type of activities currently run in Bridgetown VC under the Bridgetown SCP include a music programme, extra resource hours, mentoring, counselling, percussion programme, youth project, courses for parents, homework club, parent support and a summer programme.
Feeder Schools
- Broadway National School, Broadway, Co. Wexford
- Kilrane National School, Kilrane, Co. Wexford
- Murrintown National School, Murrintown, Co. Wexford
- Piercestown National School, Piercestown, Co. Wexford
- Rathangan National School, Rathangan, Duncormick, Co. Wexford
- Scoil Mhuire National School, Rosslare, Co. Wexford
- Scoil Realt na Mhara, Kilmore, Co. Wexford
- St. Fintans National School, Mayglass, Co. Wexford
- St. Joseph's National School, Hilltown, Ballymitty, Co. Wexford
- St. Mary's National School, Danescastle, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford
- St. Iberius National School, Davitt Road, Wexford, Co.Wexford