What we do
Youthreach is an education, training, and work programme for early school leavers aged 15-20 years of age. It offers support to young people to help them identify what they would like to do in adult life and allows them to gain a certificate. It operates on a full time basis and takes in new students all year round. There are 110 Youthreach centres around the country.
Youthreach Ballina today
Youthreach Ballina has been open since 1992, when the centre took in its first 25 learners in the old Vocational School and was officially opened by President Mary Robinson. The building and the programme have both changed a great deal since then, but its purpose has not.
We are a full time centre for young people aged 15 to 20 who have left school early.
Thirty learners attend the centre, working towards Leaving Certificate Applied and QQI awards across a broad curriculum: English, Maths, Communications, Social Education, Engineering, Graphics and Construction, Hotel, Tourism and Catering, Home Economics, Hairdressing, Music, Spanish, Vocational Preparation and Guidance, and Information Communication Technology. Every learner also works with a teacher on an Individual Learning Plan, so that the learner is looking forward to a career or learning pathway.
Our class groups are small, which allows teachers to get to know everyone properly, work at a comfortable pace and support our learners.
Youthreach Ballina takes part in a lot of extra curricular activities, including sports, games, gardening, trips and concerts. Through Erasmus+ our learners travel to partner centres in Europe for training and work experience. Creativity is central to the centre. We hold the Belong To LGBTQ+ Quality Mark and we work to make the centre somewhere every young person can be themselves.
If you feel Youthreach may be for you or a young person under your care, call Damian on 086 065 4004 to organise a time to come and visit.
Our Activities
Many activities take place at Youthreach Ballina outside of the classroom.
They are an integral part of our approach to the holistic development of our learners and include sporting, artistic, musical, cultural, and social and leisure activities.
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