Tipperary Education and Training Board (TETB) says no decision has yet been made regarding the future of its long running Art Portfolio Preparation Course in Thurles. It is understood that the tutor associated with the course since it began has been timetabled to teach religion this year and that an alternative tutor will deliver the course if it goes ahead this year.
The ETB says all courses offered are reviewed on an annual basis, and courses are routinely added and removed based on consideration of multiple factors, particularly learner demand. The course offers 20 places but the ETB says demand for the course in Thurles has reduced considerably, with numbers completing the course being less than 10 each year over the past five years. A similar course is available in Clonmel.
A number of Art teachers currently employed in Tipperary Schools are understood to have taken to course prior to securing their third level art qualification to be employed as teachers while others have gone on to work in the commercial art sector most notably Mark Maher – involved in films such as Avatar and The Hobbit Trilogy. The course is also open to those taken it for solely artistic reasons – a local man in Thurles, Frank Rafter, undertook the course at age 67 and has since completed as four year degree course in Limerick College of Art & Design. 98% of the students completing the course went on to Third level Arts Education. A former successful participant, Jennifer Ryan Kelly has launched a petition for the course to be retained in Thurles on the My Uplift Platform.
Tipperary ETB says it is very proud of the achievements of learners who have completed the Art Portfolio course and that “any decision regarding the future of this course will be relayed to the public at that time.”
Those interested in a place on the course are advised to contact Coláiste Mhuire, Castlemeadows, Nenagh Road Thurles (0504 21734), plans are underway for PLC courses in Thurles to be moved to a new location in the Tipperary Technology Park in the future.
