Our accredited NCTJ course is unique. At Up To Speed we will give you the skills to succeed in any area of journalism. You will learn to write for print and the web, but also how to tell stories using video, audio, podcasts and blogs.

We place great emphasis on traditional skills, but at Up To Speed we believe in preparing you to be the journalists of the future.

On the NCTJ course you will:

• Work as a reporter
• See your work published online and in print
• Find your own stories
• Interview interesting people
• Learn to write Shorthand at up to 100 words per minute
• Study Media Law and Politics
• Take professional exams
• Learn video and audio reporting and editing
• Spend 10 days on work placement

Qualification

You study for the NCTJ Preliminary Certificate. This qualification is recognised in all areas of journalism. Up To Speed students who progress on to work in newspapers will typically take the NCTJ's National Certificate Examination.

Jobs

Employers value the NCTJ qualifications and nine out of ten people who leave Up To Speed with all the qualifications have a job in journalism within two to three weeks. Many receive job offers while they are still on our courses. Our students have gone on to work for newspapers, radio stations, magazines, websites and mobile phone content producers.

Click here to see what working journalists think of our courses.

Dates

Courses start in September and February.

Contact Hours

25 to 30 per week.

Price

£2,400 plus NCTJ examination fees.

Advanced Payment Schedule

A £240 deposit is payable when you accept a place. The remainder of the fees (£2,160) is due one month before the course starts.

Deferred Payment Schedule

1. £240 deposit is payable when you accept a place.

2. £620 is payable one month before the course starts.

3. Four instalments of £430 are payable at the start of each subsequent calendar month. The deferred payment schedule works out as an additional £30 a month. This covers administration costs.

Payment is by standing order from your bank or credit card.

Accommodation

The price does not include accommodation, but we supply you with a comprehensive list of rented rooms in Bournemouth and Poole on request.

Selection

We are looking for the best candidates we can find. The people who thrive on our courses are motivated, enthusiastic and bright. Most people at Up To Speed are graduates, but students who have come to us with good A-Levels and lots of drive and ambition have passed their exams and landed good jobs. You can see this by looking at the news stories on our home page.

We receive a lot of applications from people looking for a change of career and also from Gap Year students who are keen to use their year out to learn new skills and gain professional qualifications which will help them throughout their time at university and when they graduate.

The Fast-Track Approach

The course is designed to be vocational, intensive and cost-effective. It is less than half the price of some MA courses and by the time MA students have received their degrees you can have earned half a year's pay from your first job in journalism.

Interview

We interview all suitable applicants over the phone. We ask everyone to take a short e-mail entrance test based on English, News Writing and Current Affairs. You can also take this test at our centre. We welcome visitors to Up To Speed.

The Course In Detail

News Writing teaches you to produce tight, bright, accurate copy in a newspaper style. You learn how to find stories, how to interview people and how to tell stories in simple English.

You are taught in our modern wireless newsroom in two-hour classes covering exercises and real-life stories. You will complete at least TEN mock News Writing exams before you take the two-hour NCTJ exam.

The Portfolio. A Portfolio of your best news work from the course is assessed by the NCTJ. You will produce stories for the portfolio in News Days where you report for our online newspaper Poole People. Up To Speed's Fast-Track students are given full training in both video and audio journalism and you will produce broadcast quality packages, podcasts and clips for Poole People.

Work Placement

Our students are encouraged to spend at least ten days in a working newsroom and we help you to arrange those placements. Cuttings from the Work Placement can also go into your Portfolio.

Public Affairs teaches you about the workings of both local and national government and equips you to cover stories from the parish pump to parliament. You will write at least one story about a Public Affairs issue for your Portfolio. Public Affairs is assessed by two two-hour NCTJ exams. You sit the first exam half way through the course.

Law teaches you how to stay on the right side of the law while reporting about people who may have strayed onto the wrong side. The comprehensive syllabus teaches you how to work as a court reporter, but it also gives you a detailed knowledge of the laws covering defamation, contempt of court, and copyright. A court story is included in your portfolio. Law is assessed in two two-hour NCTJ exams.

Shorthand teaches you to take accurate notes of interviews and speeches. We teach you the theory and when you have grasped the basics we then help you to build up speed. Shorthand is a vital skill for reporters, which can only be mastered through hard work and practice. You will be taught it four days a week.