I couldn't rate Queen's University any less than 5 stars, simply because I work here. The building…read moreitself is amazing, the surrounding gardens are beautiful and very well kept. It's also very close to Botanic gardens which its nice for lunch time walks. There's so many places in and around the area to go for a coffee, breakfast or lunch and dinner or drinks, spoilt for choice.

beautiful campus Not…read moreas beautiful as Glasgow ;), but still beautiful nonetheless. In all seriousness, it's the main Uni in the North and due to that, it's very hard to get in. Most students go to uni in Liverpool or Glasgow because of that. Go on a stroll through the campus with some nice walking shoes.

I attended this college as part of the Newspaper Journalism course so I am pretty familiar with the…read morebuilding. The canteen isn't great. They offer some pretty stodgy food in the shape of soggy sausage rolls, jambons and hotdogs. The sandwiches are really crappy. The staff are pretty friendly though, if you get them in the right day. The organization of this college isn't the best. I really enjoyed my course, but there are always mix ups with the administration department. Such as when they informed students last year of the wrong starting date, so many students missed their first week. Also the times for a repeat exam were mixed up recently, meaning many students could have missed their important exam and lost out on their qualification. The library is nice, but there are countless problems with the computers and printers and it's always when you need to hand in an assignment. Must try harder.

I do love Belfast Met, or BIFHE as it once was, really. It offers vocational NVQs and City and…read moreGuilds courses in everything from hairdressing to engineering, a wide range of GCSE and A level courses including several non standard ones such as photography, and - the best bit imho - loads of community based courses all around the city. You can do a birdwatching or dog training course here, for example, as well as really off the wall 'college' stuff like flower arranging, ballroom dancing, boxercise or - ahem - wine appreciation. All at a reasonable cost, especially if you're on benefits - I enrolled on their A level law course for just a fiver while on the dole some years back. But. Absolutely everyone I have spoken to, and I myself, has had problems with the admin side of the college and courses. I applied for a course a few years back after being told the wrong closing date, and was quite abruptly told the course was full and there was nothing they could do when I went to enquire. It was a vocational type course I wanted to do as a career change, so really did throw my plans for the next year into serious disarray. A colleague's son has been told in the past week that the course he allegedly was accepted on is now over-subscribed - it's a full time course and he's already quit his job and given notice on his flat to move closer to the college. And I've heard several nightmare stories from students who manage to get onto a course only to find themselves given the wrong starting date, or unable to use the slow and/or crashing computers, or not informed of exam dates. The quality of teaching is generally thought to be fine, but for a newly updated and major college BMC really needs to take a more professional approach.

My alma mater!!! Definitely one of the most iconic school buildings in Belfast!! Had fond memories…read morehere. The original building has stood the test of time!!

This is where BMC would teach all its GCSE and 'A' level courses. It's quite an old building, but a…read moreformidable one, steeped in history. Before being called BMC the organisation was known as the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education. Prior to that it was the College of Technology, which is why you'll still here people saying they are doing a course in the "tech". It's a beautiful building too. I think it's a Georgian building, built in the mid-19th century, and it spans five floors.

OK, let's get this out of the way first. I am a lady. With ladybits. St Malachy's is a boys'…read morecollege. For boys. But I'm going to review it anyway. There are two reasons for this. One is that no-one can live in Belfast for any amount of time and not be aware of St Malachy's. The amount of young gentlemen I have met during the course of my, em, career who are past pupils of the place has been considerable, and they have all had nothing but good things to say about it. The second reason is that back in my North Belfast News days, I interviewed the headmaster as part of a feature on the school. How pleased I was to go up that drive and into the hallowed halls of the school for a nosy. Yes, really. I'm a geek. Dr Morrin took over an hour out of his very busy day to go through the history and ethos of the college with me, and it was one of my more memorable and enjoyable interviews. I was in St Malachy's, for freak's sake! As a ladyperson! I mentioned that I had two ex boyfriends who were past pupils, and he remembered them both. Even better, although he was the soul of discretion, he clearly liked the good one and had dubious memories of the bad one. Ha. An outstanding school and a Belfast institution. I still smile going past it on the bus up the Antrim Road. Oh, and their website is pretty good too.

St. Malachy's College is where I spent the last two years of my Secondary school education. I moved…read morehere from my old school because they offered the subjects I wanted to do at A Level. The style of teaching was quite different in that it was a lot more relaxed in St Malachy's than it was in my previous school and I don't know if that was a good thing or not. More importantly, this is where I met some the most inspiring teachers (as well as complete ejits) and made friends that I still have five years on. The majority of the buildings are very old and have a great history behind them. A lot of these buildings were left unoccupied and we'd often have a wonder around them. These were the old dorms which now were left empty but still have quite a lot of the furniture in them, which made them quite creepy. The Study area's used by the 6th year students hold a lot of good memories for me. This is where a lot of students spent their free periods just chatting or more importantly (ahem) revising. A great place that I even today still have a lot of time for.

Northern Regional College is basically a vocational college where you can study in many areas…read more They offer GCSE, AS, and A Level qualifications, for anyone who maybe didn't do as well in school as they had hoped, for those who wish to get their A Levels to progress to Uni, or even for those who just want to get the qualifications for personal development. In additon, many specific courses are offered, such as BTEC qualifications, Diplomas, National Diplomas, and Higher Diplomas. They also have a number of short term courses (such as those in computer proficiency, councelling, holistic therapy) and 'fun' courses, such as conversational French, Wine tasting, and cookery. I have attended the college in the past to undertake two different courses, which I enjoyed thorougly, and was very impressed by the resources on offer to me there. The college is ideally located just outside Belfast, and has ample parking space and a train station a short walk away, so it is easily accessible for anyone in the area or further afield who wishes to further their education.

i attend norrthern regional college to get my level 2 qualification certificate in childcare and im…read morecurrently doing my level 3 which i had to repeat and pay the full price again as my assesor took a dislike to me and never gave me a fair assesment so i never got my level 3 finnished and has to enrol again. i am sorry to say that i would not recommened anyone to attend this college as i feel i have experienced discrimanation,hassel, no support and tears. the teacher i had and assesor were very rude and made racist remarks to me in class and also told me and a few others that we wernt capable which was nonsense, i only attended this college as it was the cheapest i could afford, i dread the day i walk into the building as i hate it so much, a few of my friends have been "bullied" by the teachers aswell, i feel something needs to be done about this as it is not fair on students having to deal with this pressure. the teachers and asseesors should be there to support sudents but they dont, i cant wait untill i get my qualification so that i can leave and never have to go back there again.

The Open University is a wonderful worldwide institution and I am a massive fan of all types of…read moreeducation. I just graduated in May from The Open University with a first class honours degree in Psychology - I had an absolutely wonderful experience and was able to fit in my job with my studies. I think I attended 3 classes and the rest I did at home - if you are self motivated and driven this could be the type of course for you. Three years of hard work on my part and immense resources and back up if I needed it. I was incredibly proud to collect my degree back in May and to be a representative of the massive OU community. The Belfast branch have been particularly supportive both during my studies and since I have graduated.

The Open University often got stick for being a pseudo place of education where those who wanted to…read morelearn a bit of French or DIY or decorating skills went as opposed to be a proper, respected university. Things have changed though and now distance learning is slowly what universities are increasingly moving towards. I really don't have an issue with it, most of my degree as with many academic subjects are done by the student, facilitated by Power Point slides and a whack of PDFs too. The Open Uni has a wide range of courses ranging from law orientated to languages right through to fully accredited masters courses. It's the sort of thing I would probably do down the line if I wanted further education.

St Patrick's College Bearnaghaeha (which means windy gap in Irish, hopefully not a pun towards the…read morestudents!) is the school where I spent the first 5 years of my secondary school education. It's a strange mixture of 1950s buildings with a recently constructed technology and design department. This school is one of the strictest school I have ever been to, but this was not a bad thing by far. I was a lazy kid and without these teachers really pushing their classes and keeping a tight watch I probably wouldn't have gotten a single qualification. The place was really turned around into the top class institution it is now by its Principle P.J O'Grady who wants students to take pride in their college so much so that he can often be seen confiscating baseball caps from students wearing them on the walk home so as to not take away from the uniforms appearance. A great college of which I have a lot of fond memories.

The Student Guidance Centre at Queen's may not be visited by every student every day, but it is a…read morehandy wee place to keep in your back pocket if ever you have any difficulties with the course you are doing or the university experience you are having. Located literally across the road from Queen's, the Centre is designed to be the mid-way point between the University and the students. I have been here a few times, once to collect extra tickets for my graduation. We were only given three which was not of any benefit to me as I had four in my party. I was told to come back before the doors opened and see if there were any extra tickets. The nice old lady give me a ticket and wished me good luck. They have a number of floors, all with dedicated staff who specialise in Finance, Admissions, Counselling, Disabillity, Employment etc Like I said not everyone is going to need the Guidance centre, but it is the best place to go to if you need a helping hand

A bit of a mixed bag on this one. On the one hand they have helped me on many an occasion when the…read morepeople at my faculty have been utterly clueless. On the other hand, when my girlfriend came here to query her enrolment, she was told to just be patient and wait, when in fact the was the last thing she should have been doing. It all depends on who you talk to. I'm not gonna be mean about this place because it does offer a good and valuable service to the students of Queens and its colleges. The staff are all very approachable and eager to help you whatever your problem may be.