| St. John's Central College | |
| Native Name: | Lár Choláiste Eoin |
| Principal: | Paula McCarthy |
| Enrollment: | 800 |
| Location: | Sawmill Street, Cork City, Ireland |
| Former Names: | The School of Building and Junior Technical Institute |
St. John's Central College (Irish: Lár Choláiste Eoin) is a further education college in Cork City, Ireland. The college is administered by the Cork Education and Training Board.
The earliest part of the college is St. John's Episcopalian church, which was built in 1840. The church was used by the local community, which included young women from the Governesses Seminary in Warren Place.[1]
A second building on Sawmill Street, Buckingham House, was built in the mid 19th Century, and was used as a female refuge and penitentiary until its closure in 1901. The building was then occupied by the Buckingham House Free School, an orphanage that had operated since 1875.[2]
St. John's Episcopalian church was sold to the City of Cork VEC on 11 June 1963 for IR£19,885. Buckingham House ran until 1958 when it was sold to the City of Cork VEC for IR£13,100.
In 1961, The School of Building and Junior Technical Institute commenced its classes. The college was aimed at vocational training, and included a School of Furniture, built in 1963.
The college saw declining pupil numbers during the 1980s, and moved to teach Post Leaving Certificate courses.
In 2003 the college had over 1000 students enrolled in its courses. To keep up with this demand, the original wall of the female refuge and penitentiary on Sawmill Street were demolished, as well as classrooms constructed during the mid 1960s. In their place was constructed a new four story, 5200 square metre teaching facility.
St. John's Central College offers both academic, vocational, apprenticeship and pre apprenticeship courses. Full time courses include Applied Sciences, Art & Design, Construction & Engineering, Information Technology, Media Technology, Software Engineering and Services.[3] all of which have routes into Higher education. Vocational courses on offer include motor maintenance, Environmental science and hairdressing.
Companion & Captive Animal Studies L5
Animal Science and Management L6
Science & Laboratory Techniques L5
Science with Environmental Studies L5
Fine Art – Painting and Sculpture L6
Graphic Design & Illustration L5
Interior Architecture & Design L5
Interior Architecture & Design L6
Interior Architecture & Design HNC L6
Interior Architecture & Design HND L6
Jewellery Making & Art Metalcraft L5
Jewellery Making & Art Metalcraft L6
Architectural 3D Modelling BIM REVIT L5
Furniture Making & Restoration Skills L5
Motor Maintenance & Light Engineering L5
Motorcycle & Small Engine Maintenance L5
Musical Instrument Making & Repair L5
Musical Instrument Making & Repair L6
Applied Computer Training Course L5
Computers & Business Applications L5
Computers & Business Applications L6
Computer Game Design & Development L5
Computer Game Design & Development L6
Cloud Computing with Coding L5
Cloud Computing with Coding L6
New Directions IT Skills Development L4 – Part time
Film, TV and Video Production L5
Advanced Film, TV & Video Production L6
Tourism, Travel with Business L5
Tourism, Travel with Business L6
Barbering & Salon Management L6
The college includes many modern teaching facilities, including a laboratory, dark room, art studios, hair dressing studio and tool workshops.
The Information Resource Centre at St. Johns contains many books designed to help students with their courses. The IRC also includes computers where students can research on the internet, or access the library's online catalogue. Students can also download their course and lesson notes, in a pilot scheme designed to help students access their college work online.