Spailpin fanach, 1996

WRITTLE College is a regional college of the University of Anglia Polytechnic University, set in 220 hectares in the Essex countryside. It is also home to a thriving Irish community in the college, consisting of 110 students who have travelled to the UK to pursue courses of agricultural study.

Writtle's Irish students are part of a steady flow of Irish school leavers who choose British universities as bases for the study of agricultural disciplines. They are attracted by the range of courses offered by the colleges, and the variety of qualifications available.

"We have a small Irish community in the college and it's something we are very pleased to encourage," says John Fleming, marketing manager with Newton Rigg College, Penrith, Cumbria.

One of Newton Rigg's specialities is forestry. "It's a very practical, employment related discipline," says Mr Fleming. "There are opportunities with us which you will not find to the same extent on vocational courses in Ireland."

Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, recognises all equivalent courses in the UK as long as they are of three years duration. Irish students who complete the one year certificate in farming in an Irish agricultural college can usually enter the second year of a National Diploma course in a UK college, according to Dave Alderton of Sparsholt College in Hampshire which has 40 Irish students and specialisms in fishery studies, forestry and wildlife and animal management. If they have their Leaving Certificate, they should qualify for the second year of a Higher National Diploma.

UK agricultural colleges are likely to receive even more applications from Irish students this year as the Department of Education is proposing to extend the higher education grants scheme to British third level courses. The only obstacle in the paths of such students is the British government's decision to cap student numbers in colleges, which could make the race for UK college places even more competitive. Applications to UK agricultural colleges should be made through the UCAS system.