NWRC former student Eva Birthistle is special guest at Best in FE Awards

An award winning actress and former student of NWRC will be the special guest at North West Regional College’s Best in Further Education Awards ceremony on June 15.

Eva Birthistle who starred in the Oscar nominated ‘Brooklyn’ will help acknowledge the achievements of 240 College learners at a special ceremony at the Millennium Forum to celebrate the ‘Best in Further Education ’ learners from the college’s courses across Derry~Londonderry, Strabane and Limavady.

The event will be hosted by BBC presenter and weatherman, Barra Best.

Speaking ahead of her visit to the city, Eva Birthistle said she was delighted to return to her roots at North West Regional College, where she first began cutting her teeth in the world of acting.

She said: “I moved to Derry in 1988 and completed my GCSEs at Foyle College. Uncertain of the next step in my education I decided to study Performing Arts, which was a new course at NWRC at the time.

“It was here that my interest really began and helped shape my decision to make acting a full time career.”

Eva has since gone to star opposite leading men Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy, and her TV credits include performances in Waking the Dead, Nightwatching and the BAFTA award winning Five Daughters.

She also starred in the global award winning, Oscar nominated ‘Brooklyn’ and is currently onscreen in the BBC/Netflix production of The Last Kingdom.

An IFTA winner, Eva is now writing for the screen in a film in development with The Irish Film Board which she is due to direct next year.

Students studying in courses offering at NWRC – including Business and General Education, Craft Services, Hairdressing, Beauty and Early Years, Health and Social Care, Hospitality, Tourism and Sport, Media, Multi-Media and Arts, Science and Technology will be recognised at the ceremony on June 15th.