Rhodri Phillips
"I found the course intense and testing but extremely rewarding."
Rhodri Phillips is now a reporter with the Mail on Sunday.
- you are here:
- Home »
- Course Information
Course Structure
The course lasts for 17 weeks, including a week of video and video editing training at the end.
For the first five weeks, you will spend your days in an intensive classroom environment, working on course assignments and learning the basic elements of journalism.
You will also start immediately on the journey towards achieving 100 words per minute shorthand speed right from day one.
From week five, you will begin your once a week news drives. A patch of the north east will be allocated to you and you will be expected to go out, find stories and write them.
The best will be published by the Evening Chronicle, The Journal, Sunday Sun and on their associated websites.
On most courses we get more than 100 page stories published, including front page and page lead stories that go on to make the nationals.
You will also begin learning law and Public Affairs straight away, working towards your end of course NCTJ examinations.
By the end of this intensive, five-days-a-week programme, you will have been expected to pass exams in Shorthand, Law parts one and two, PA parts one and two and have completed a portfolio of course work which will be assessed.
Throughout the course, you will be informed of job vacancies and given assistance in securing that all important first job.