Up To Speed is dedicated to training journalists to stay ahead of the pack and on top of the facts.
Our innovative ground-breaking courses are geared to the future, but we also place great emphasis on traditional skills.
If you are looking for an NCTJ-accredited Fast-Track course that will help you break into the industry, or for extra professional training in online or video journalism, or if you simply want an insight into the job, we have something for you at Up To Speed.
We are particularly proud of our accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
The journalism tutors on our NCTJ Fast-Track course have worked for both regional and national press and in broadcasting and online news for the BBC, ITN, Sky News and ft.com. Our three main tutors in Shorthand, Law and Public Affairs have a hundred years of experience between them in their specialist areas.
Where do I sign up?
You can secure a place on our next Fast-Track course in four stages and we try to make it as easy as we can for you every step of the way.
Step 1: Application - you can apply online simply by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
Step 2: Entrance Test - to ensure that we recruit the best students, we ask everyone to take a short entrance test covering English, Writing and Current Affairs. You can take this by e-mail in an hour and we will give you the results on the same day.
Step 3: Payment - if you pass the test, we ask for a 10% deposit to secure your place. We accept most forms of payment and we also offer the opportunity to stagger your course fees in four staged payments while you study with us.
Step 4: Accommodation - we help you to find a place to stay using our network of friendly landladies and by directing you to flat-share web listings. Our courses run from 10am on Mondays to 4pm on Thursdays and so some of our students opt to stay in the Bournemouth and Poole area for three nights and travel home at weekends.
We welcome visitors to our training centre.
Latest News
Citizen Shane Interviews Ken Livingstone
Up To Speed's Dan Shane hit the ground running on his work placement at the Ham and High and found himself emulating Jeremy Paxman on day one at the paper.
"Interviewing the Mayor of London is perhaps my biggest achievement as a journalist so far," said Dan. "The prospect of meeting Ken Livingstone was quite scary at first, but armed with my knowledge of Public Affairs, I managed to make the most of the experience."
"Ken even managed to make a few jokes and slip in some digs at his Mayoral opponent Boris Johnson which I eagerly jotted down in shorthand."
Reporting From Ecuador
Up To Speed's Alexander Shaw was one of the first British journalists on the scene of the tragic bus crash in Ecuador.
Alexander, who now works as a journalist for The Ecuador Reporter in Quito, interviewed survivors, witnesses and police sources to compile his piece.
You can read his work at www.ecuadorreporter.com/The_Ecuador_Reporter/Home.html
Are You Waiting To Hear Back From Us?
So, if you have tried to get in touch and you are waiting for an answer, please try us again.
Apologies for any frustrating delays. We will deal with all applications within 24 hours of receiving them.
Thanks,
Up To Speed Admissions Team
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