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
Summer Taster Course Full
Up To Speed's Summer Taster course is now officially full. Sixth Formers from all over the country are coming to our training centre on the South Coast for a fun introduction to reporting for print, audio and video.
We are already taking bookings for next year's Summer course and also for the fast-track courses students can take in their Gap Year.
Contact us on 01202 667863 to make your booking.
Up To Speed With Investigative Reporting
Investigative reporter Lynn Morris shared the secrets of some of her recent scoops in a fascinating talk at Up To Speed.
Lynn explained how she used the Freedom Of Information Act to obtain unpublished official figures on juvenile crime, police injuries and local authority spending on public relations.
She has successfully used the technique to dig up exclusive after exclusive for the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
The students at Up To Speed have all studied the Freedom of Information Act in both Media Law and Public Affairs, but Lynn was able to explain the practical steps reporters have to take to identify areas for investigation and to frame questions which will produce results.
“Lynn’s talk was inspirational and it showed that with imagination, initiative and patience reporters can find out what is really going on in our communities,” said Course Director Tom Hill.
Up To Speed Students Celebrate 100% Exam Pass Rate
Up To Speed's trainee reporters have shown they are made of the write stuff this week. They all passed one of the NCTJ's toughest challenges, the News Writing exam.
And there was a double celebration for one trainee. Matt Rowley heard on the same day that he had passed the 80wpm Shorthand exam with a score of 100%.
You will soon be able to see more of their work for print and video on our news website www.poolepeople.co.uk, which is relaunching in the next few days.
Click here to read more news articles.
