THE Southern Daily Echo’s new Classroom in the Newsroom is now taking applications for the next generation of journalists.

We have again teamed up with journalism training centre Highbury College to run a One Year Diploma in Journalism course based at our headquarters.

Starting this September, it will mix high-quality training with work experience at the Daily Echo and our website, dailyecho.co.uk.

Students will learn how to be a working journalist and will leave with all the skills they need to make it on a newspaper, website, TV or radio station.

Achieving the diploma can also pave the way for a job in public relations, social media, publishing and communications – all without having to pay thousands of pounds in university fees.

We can only take a maximum of 15 students so make sure you apply now before the places are snapped up. For the vast majority of applicants the course is free.

Paul Foster, journalism course leader at Highbury, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to break into the media industry. It’s not just about newspapers and websites; the skills you will learn on this course can get you a job in most areas of the media.

“How do we know this? Because our previous students have done exactly that. We have had students move into magazines, radio, social media as well as traditional print media. It really is a stepping stone to getting a job.”

The Echo’s head of training David Brine, who leads the course, added: “By having the classroom in the newsroom we provide an amazing opportunity of real-life, hands-on training for all students. There’s no better way of learning the skills of the trade.”

The diploma – which has been fully accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists – covers the essentials of journalism and includes reporting, public affairs, media law, court reporting, video broadcasting and shorthand.

Highbury College has more than 50 years’ experience in training journalists with a great number of success stories including ITV newsreader Mark Austin and the BBC’s deputy political editor John Pienaar.

If you would like to apply, log on to highbury.ac.uk/journalism, ring 023 9238 3131 or e-mail journalism@highbury.ac.uk to arrange an interview. For more information, search for the Highbury College Journalism Training page on Facebook.