For students who are passionate about sport, the goal is in sight. It's a leafy centre of learning by the River Thames, a British college which has a degree course in sport science and it has become the mecca for a steady trickle of Irish students over the years.

About 40 places are available to students on a degree course in sport science and sport rehabilitation at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill, in south-west London. And, if they don't get on that particular programme, Irish students could go for another one of the college's degree courses, such as the sport science and biology programme.

About 12 per cent of the 2,300 students at this stately, long-established college of the University of Surrey come from Ireland, north and south.

The St Mary's stand at last week's Higher Options conference in the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin, was busy with students lining up to collect a prospectus and ask a few questions. "They want to know if a B in honours biology is really necessary," says Paula Askew, a senior lecturer in the college's education department. She smiles at the suggestion that biology could be brushed aside - the programme includes theory that is concerned with anatomy, physiology and psychology.

Apart from everything else, "we are looking at a good sporting record as well," Askew adds. Those who want to apply must get two Bs and two Cs at honours level in the Leaving Cert and one of those Bs must be in biology

Two sixth-years, Sorcha Grehan and Caoilfhionn O'Connor, from the Holy Child Jesus School in Killiney, Co Dublin, have their sights on a career in this area and they are curious about courses at Strawberry Hill. "It's so hard to get into a PE course in Ireland and there are no sports courses in Dublin," says Caoilfhionn. Sorcha nods in agreement.

Caitriona O'Dwyer, from the Ursuline Convent in Thurles, Co Tipperary, is inquiring about the teacher training programmes at the college. "The points are fairly high in Ireland," she explains. Her classmate, Sandra Hedigan, is also interested in a teaching career which encompasses sport. As well as the primary degree programmes, the college has post-graduate teacher training programmes.

Padraic Naughton, principal of Colaiste Phadraig CBS in Lucan, Co Dublin, is a past pupil of Strawberry Hill. In the early Seventies, when he was an under-graduate there, quite a number of students came over from Ireland. He studied French and sport. When he returned to Ireland, after doing the obligatory Ceard Teastas, he started teaching PE and French. He has seen the steady stream of graduates from the college continue since then.

"I enjoyed the course very much," says Naughton. "It qualified you to teach in two subjects."

There are different combinations open to students who want to study for a degree in the sports science area. For those who do not get a place on the sport science and sport rehabilitation programme, there are combinations which have proved very popular over the years, for example, sport science and English.

With up to 200 places on offer each year in this particular area, students may get a different offer which combines sport science with drama/ social studies/sociology/history. In all there are 14 combinations under the sport science umbrella. There are further combinations under the sport rehabilitation umbrella - sport rehabilitation and biology and sport rehabilitation and sport science.

Those who graduate can go into a range of careers, from sports science management, sports rehabilitation, sport retail, financial management, fund-raising and sports leisure management. The programmes and qualifications offered by St Mary's are recognised in Ireland.

About one out of every three students at the college is doing teacher training, according to Katrina Giles, another member of the college staff. For those who want to teach, there is the option to train by doing a further post-graduate year. "About 15 per cent of our BA and B Sc graduates go on to train as teachers," says Giles.

Contact: Admissions Office, St Mary's University College, Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 4ST. Phone: (0044 181) 240 4029 or fax (0044 181) 240 4255.